This is my first purchase (don't want to do anything stupid) and the rents could swing 600/month depending on what I'm allowed to do in the basement - I'd be in the red from a cashflow perspective if I can't duplex them.Am I rolling the dice here / do you not typically find out for sure until you close and begin renovations?  

I'm myself a tenant right now and I see what are the pin points from the tenant perspective.

You have to look at things from the management perspective to understand this. 

After 99 Cents Only filed for bankruptcy in April 2024, 28 stores in Phoenix closed, leaving 632,900 square feet of prime retail space available. The closures arrived at a time when Phoenix's retail market was tight, ...

A lot great advice, I love all the great input and different perspectives.

Most of this is perspective.  

It seems a little clunky from a guest perspective.  

From my perspective, as a California litigation attorney for nearly 35 years, most folks completely focus on the wrong things, especially if they have never seen the inside of a courtroom.The op has posted from the perspective of a property owner seeking protection from tort type liability claims.

I understand your perspective.

Personally, I would put most of it in passive real estate syndications - but I am a full time passive investor so that makes the most sense for me.The first decision you would need to make from my perspective is whether you want to invest passively or actively (your profile says rental property investor, so I would assume you are currently an active investor).