When we buy NPNs, we inherit the FC attorneys and half of those typically do an ok to good job and we keep them.

I’m renting 2bd/2bth apartments in Redwood City for $3400, and yours is a townhome near google, I’m assuming with private garage plus the extra half bath. 

The property is within a nice middle class residential neighborhood and only one mile away from a small private university.

Hi @Raymond Miles and welcome to BiggerPockets!

Personally I wouldn't choose it as that's less than half my ROR (even before reducing the return by the amount of rent paid) and I don't trust any govt systems to be there as promised by the time I'm old enough to collect.To consider the property potential, it's possible even without rent and depreciation, that you could beat 6.5%/yr over 9 years. 

This little family has been hawking opportunities for about a year and a half waiting for the right one. 

I found out the hard way that if you are literally within 100 miles of a property you already own, then FHA will NOT give you a loan.Here's what you can do.Wait until you get to your next duty station and then use the fha loan  orGet a loan through Navy Federal Credit Union (You do not have to be in the Navy, you simply need to be on active duty in any branch of the military or honorably discharged)....yes they will let you go zero down with no PMI and you can use it while you have a VA loan in place.

My wife and I are considering house-hacking in style by buying one of those big, 1920's duplexes west of Hancock Park and renting the other half.

I'm set to move to West Lafayette, Indiana in the next month & a half or so and have been looking through listings and one thing I've noticed is that there aren't any 2-3plexes listed at all.Is this just because the rental market is really good for those right now or is there something I don't know about that area? 

(A seasoned seller will smell this a mile away.)You might not have a property available that fits your investment strategy, forcing you to either a) pay taxes, b) buy a less than stellar deal or c) overpay for one that does.The fund hack: Diversification and high returnsHere's where investment funds come in.