We had a 2 bed duplex within 4 blocks of the Plaza District under contract to house hack also with our two kids, but days before closing the deal fell through.

I've seen several homes of varying bed/bath counts follow a similar trend for houses that have not made significant improvements, in this area, over the last 10 years.  

We are looking to buy a house within walking distance of the blue line and most houses in that area do not have garages.

@Bryce Stclair awesome subject line.  

From speaking with another (actual) investor, I learned that this group operated heavily in the Stockton and Sacramento area.Bottom line: if you come across someone who tells you that you have to pay to learn from them, I would suggest to continue looking - it is possible that you may learn something from the "education," but, in higher likelihood, you'd only end up deeper in debt, or worse, in a bad RE deal that they could not find anyone else to sell to.There are plenty of honest people still around, many are successful and some of those have blogs and podcasts that you can learn from for free (although, they still seem to have something to sell you, but it is a fair trade off.)

Others might want more Cash Flow than appreciation.The bottom line is you have to decide what makes a good investment for you.  

I understand protecting ones on interest, but where does the line get drawn? 

Its feast or famine in my line of work.

The bottom line is by using this approach it brings the value of the building up tremendously.  

Possibly see if you can reroute the gas line from where it currently protrudes from the slab by running it along the wall through the studs or along the interior back of the cabinets.