Nate I would use a low money down owner occ 2-4 unit loan which allows the highest DTI possible.

Alternatively, I could explore hard money lenders.

That’s our concern about it penciling out on paper but the reality might be that it ends up costing us money.

I've never heard money/profit described as cute, so it's not important.The most important thing you mentioned, was the rent potential and ARV. 

This book introduced me to financial concepts and made me look at money and investing in a completely different way.

Sort of a unique way to make money, meet new people and not get stuck with a tenant you don’t like for too long!

Asking strangers how to spend your money is a fool's errand.

When you have a duplex and tenants on both sides stay for ten years, it almost guarantees that something isn't right.I would study your market and determine the value of your rental, because I bet you are losing money every month.

And she's hardly saving money if she's using an electric space heater as the only source.

Instead, the answer was to make a new money making market off of it.