My current mindset is on buying a duplex or house with a mother-in-law apartment.

Then, by about 2013 - 2014 you start seeing a few posts about it, by 2015 it's everywhere and by 2016 everyone and their mother is doing it. 

Now everybody and their mother's cat is doing it so we might want to look into storage and notes but also groom and nurture our network of private investors and such.We have lost touch with nature.

The cash flow without appreciation markets (i.e. the Midwest markets) have a hard time scaling with inflation, is too small cash flow to make a significant impact to CA investors, can be a pain in the butt (building trusted team, potentially poor tenants, potential hidden cap expenses, potential Mother nature issues, etc.).What is good cash flow after all expenses in the Midwest after accounting for all costs including cap expenses? 

I am currently helping my mother get a mortgage so I will technically share around 220k debt with her, but I have 500k-1m im looking to invest into property.

The reason i choose not to move yet is because my mother is ill and i wish to be there for her and my father.

I'm not worried about being paid on time, I'm worried about being paid and they pay every month.They are a family, mother her sister and their adult son, when they moved in she was working at the school at the end of the street so they had obvious motive for wanting to live their.They deposit into my bank account, very occasionally I have collected cash. 

Advantages to neighbor:  No management company/fees, can do maintenance/repairs himself.Question: Am I better off selling the property or trying to structure a lease option to nurse some sort of cash flow? 

Some examples:Scenario #1)Owner inherited it from mother, used it as collateral for cash-out refinances to fund a failing small business. 

Low income tenants, with the father working and the mother staying at home with the children.