If either of these are a no than do not buy it.It is not an investment property because you made the biggest mistake ever: "plus its a house we like" You grew attached to the house.

@Thomas WoodrowMy biggest suggestion would be to ask if they own rental properties themselves and possibly if they know of BiggerPockets.

This is the single biggest reason to own both sides of a double unit.The risk you take on is that you no longer share the expense of the normal "shared expenses" such as a new roof, driveway, etc.

The latter being the biggest issue, because we're able to fix immediately, and bill immediately thus leaving the security deposit in tact at move out.I just realized I read the second reply as the OP, but I can't edit it out.

Leverage is the biggest reason why real estate investing so attractive.  

If crime is the biggest concern many cities have crime maps available but that wouldn't help you compare cities https://www.minneapolismn.gov/... 

Purchase forever home with remaining $Our biggest question that we would love advice, thoughts, suggestions, ideas, etc. is: What would be our best bet investment to add cashflow to our job income so we can qualify for the right price we are looking for on our forever home?

I think the area is the biggest problem or at least from the perspective of the tenants I had looking at it.

I have noticed that in building your team, you need that one person that you can fully trust to be the "boots on the ground", the dependable person that has their incentives aligned with yours.

My biggest concern would be their expectations of the state of the home.