A steady annual growth rate, diverse industries, and affordable living attract residents.

Spanaway, DuPont, and Yelm are areas I'd consider if you want to attract those working in Tacoma/Olympia and living further out as well.The new fast ferry from Bremerton and Kingston is making the peninsula a more viable option.

Anyone and I mean Anyone, who can produce any return remotely close to 100% and repeat it in a year or a month or whatever would have more money than they know what to do with from their own investments not to mention the large amounts of job offers from investors both private and institutional.

A $200,000 duplex might have identical rents in municipality “A” and municipality “B” but the property tax rates will vary, local regulations will dictate licensing requirements, labor rates will vary & the particular location will dictate insurance premiums since insurance carriers will weigh local replacement costs and whether the municipality is viewed as being a “plaintiff friendly” in arriving at insurance premiums.Better situated assets will attract better tenants.

When the money dries up, they'll leave just as quickly as they arrived and you may be stuck with a real mess.If it can produce more money as a short-term rental, do it yourself.

A good property manager can guide you in selecting properties that will attract a tenant segment with a high concentration of reliable people.Access to cost-effective resources for renovation and repairs.Lease terms enforcement.

Could there be something I’m not aware of that’s keeping other buyers away despite the attractive pricing?

All said, drop the rate to market or slightly below (if you're in a tougher market) to attract a quality tenant, then pursue the refinance or sale as some have suggested already.

I self-manage and produce $700 in pure cash flow each month.Lessons learned?

Consider selling the duplex to put it into a higher income producing asset (out of state, DST, something).