Aloha,Maybe I am not understanding your post correctly...you have one Tenant in a duplex that has been "paying rent" to an unknown person and living there for over a year, and you have not received a dime?

Being an engineer I am painfully aware that I is those unknown unknowns that getcha.

One thing to consider when determining and deciding over rents is to weigh the benefits of long term tenants vs dealing with vacancy periods, upgrade cost if any, and dealing with the unknown from any new tenant.

Sounds like it was a good standing prior; however, she may have some allergies unknown to her and very well can be mold in areas not visible to the eye.

@Shane Boyd fear of the unknown and its alot of physical risky work.

If your priority is to have lots of space in your family home and live comfortably for 3-5 years then buy or rent in a way that makes that possible and understand the risk you take if you have to exit quickly in unknown market conditions (even if you take a loss, you still may break even compared to the rent you would have paid).  

There will always be unknowns  but it sounds like you have a good sense of what works for you and what doesn't and are the kind of buyers who will make sure they have the reserves needed to handle surprise expenses.

I have the strong impression that what I see doesn't follow market "rules" and if that is the case, I must be missing something, and I am not good at leaving things unknown.

Answer your unknowns.

I am thankful for BP because:I found a place to geek out over real estate talk so my friends and husband got a break from hearing me obsessively talk about itI have met some amazing people and what I would consider to be lifelong friendsIt is friends like @Cliff Mccue and @Zach Shepard and @Sharad M. that gave me the encouragement and support to quit my job and do REI full time and not be scared of the unknown... thanks guys!