I consider myself to be a relatively successful handyman in small town Iowa.

@Hanna Borowski I'm with @Josh Collins you big risk here is the HOA's financial health. 

@Brant Garner @Jeff Kehl I can definitely see the higher returns relative to properties here in the West coast.

Is the duplex you bought a fixer-upper or relatively turnkey?

Active real estate investing is too much work to not achieve outpaced returns relative to other investment options.

I am still relatively young and the only life insurance I had was through my company so I wanted something in case I lost my job.

New York (you) and Texas (me) both have relatively high property tax so it is not an expense that should be underestimated.

Most importantly, does any of these submarkets have any economic anchors  like state government, major universities, major health care centers, or manufacturers that are independent of the economy like military suppliers that employs most of the residents of that submarket?

However, Treasury is supposed to release something related to Section 199A (the 20% qualified pass thru business deduction) on June 30th, so hopefully we will have a better understanding of it in early July.

The use of a legal document that relieves you of any responsibility and the fact they are totally responsible for anything related to it would be a good thing to have.