Duplexes cash flow better, have less risk, AND EASIER TO MANAGE compared to a SFH.  

Do you mind sharing the name of that type of loan/lender that allows you to have the seller carry on a second position?

You open yourself to much more risk in not being able to finance out of it and being stuck with hard money and those fees/penalties.

I live in a lower-income area, so I figure that the better tenants you will get with a safe house, the ongoing safety the tenants feel, and the lowered risk of a break-in (when occupied or vacant getting ready to lease), and reduced headaches/vacancy/potential damage are worth the marginal up-front cost of having it installed.

The current way the studs are built is not up to code, so they have to rebuild the entire structure of the kitchen wall This is not uncommon especially when renovating an older home and when budgeting you should also carry a very heavy contingency for unknowns. 

Partner Driven saw the potential to generate a solid return with minimal risk, making it a perfect fit for our investment strategy.

Surrounding yourself with a team brings some risk, but the risk is on your ability to judge people and processes. 

Raising money is all about marketing and sales (not real estate specific) so either hire marketing agency and read sales books, or hop on some LinkedIn courses on marketing and sales.Not sure the legal structure to use: talk to accountants and attorneys.Need deal flow: talk to brokers and go to a lot of networking events.Lending terms: start calling banks and loan brokers.From there, it is all risk mitigation. 

Although that would be looked down upon by a lender as well because of the inherent risk of lending to someone who has too much on their plate. 

I am left to wonder, though some investors with SFR's are doing it successfully, is the risk too high for the reward?