This means that he was not able to perform his part in this contract.

I have only seen the exterior as the owner was not able to get into the property (evicted tenant took keys).  

'Don't mix...' is great advice, but mix with the proper legal structure is probably a bit more realistic.With $40,000 in total, you guys are not looking at a super high value investment (don't get me wrong, completely notable), but you want to make sure this is not dwarfed in legal fees and other craziness that can come from a prohibitively complex legal structure. 

And it turned out to be exactly that... everything is 2X of what i paid for now....BUT, had I not had 30 year fixed, had my had to switch into a higher rate and get my expenses out of control, or not able to refi at all, I would have been wiped out...That is the risk I see with commercial, and that aspect of it scares me off...

However, what I am struggling with right now is that I a not able to scope out a neighborhoods as I am looking to invest out of state in cities I have no idea about ( I live in California bay area and looking to invest elsewhere).

Unless you forsee some giant housing collapse, then it's always a good time to buy.

If you are not able to check up on your property or the management to make sure they are doing a proper job, at least once or twice a year, then you might need to consider selling.      

Also, if they actually pass these Reforms, that may only apply to new businesses AFTER the passage since those of us who have already bought the Investments (or businesses) was not able to write off the purchase of that business in the beginning.This is going to be REALLY messy.Investor Llew

On a side note..would an increase of $200 a month to your marketing budget make a notable difference?

Know that worst case scenario you will have to stay in that duplex and make those payments if you are not able to improve it and refi, sell, or rent for acceptable cash flow.