Anything excessive could backfire on you and it's what causes tenants to fight you in court rather than move on. 

I understand this amount isn't excessive, but I feel like I need to take action so that I can understand the process better when this occurs again.I provided the tenant with a move-out letter and inspection report on August 2.

I have high income and generate $150k in excess earnings per year which I used over the last few years to build my investment portfolio.

Use your excess funds to buy more property. 

I've grown to learn that not all banks or lenders are the same and they have different appetites for certain types of borrowers, collateral, loan types, etc.I've definitely done BRRRs in my market without seasoning.

I do not currently have a lot of excess cash to make downpayments on a home and am looking for alternatives to start investing more in to real estate. 

Some commercial lenders may let you do this via them placing a second mortgage on the duplex, but I've not attempted this so not sure what sort of appetite there is for this kind of loan.If you're going with a commercial lender, just ask them what they can do and they'll tell you. 

At this phase of my life, moving the money into a DST that makes 6.5% cash flow per year, or in excess of $3500/month with no HOA or taxes to pay makes more sense for me right now. 

If using zero down finance, you have no out of pocket and you can have your tenants pay the monthly for the solar system (with a caveat that if they use excess power from the utility they are liable for that).In that scenario, you've added value to your home, your roof is an income producing asset instead of a liability and you are having that paid for by other people.

I feel people will give up neighborhood amenities and excess sqft before they'll sacrifice bedroom count.