I’ve been seriously hunting in the metro for a house hack while my wife goes to the U but so far the market is out of control.What I don’t understand is: these people buying duplexes in Minneapolis, are they running numbers on this or just wildly throwing money after money?

when your hide you hand, the im a contractor from bklyn ny (still here) and im thinking on starting rehabbing and flipping in south florida. its all dried up nyc. i cant tell you how many times people here will haggle with me on price using poor mouthing.... then they are having material shipped from Switzerland for me to install... not always from there but u get the gist.it creates problems for me as i have to change order them rather than give them a price for everything prior. all to save a buck and make a buck...but it ends up costing them more later. where would be a good place to looking for property, around 500k?..

When a seller says 2 of the homes are on 1 property and they are A U D's.

And if u can become friendly with your tenants - nothing wrong with stopping by to say hi now and again.Last, upon a rental agreement, ask if they'll help u keep an eye on things for a small discount in rent. 

Several weeks ago I came across a 4 plex (all units are 1BR/1Bath) in what I consider a highly desirable area adjacent to the U of Cincinnati (Ludlow Gaslight).

On top of that, Minneapolis is undergoing a major surge in rental growth and the city is starting to crack down on out of town (absentee) landlords by threatening more frequent inspections.http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/260623841.htmlMinneapolis is a great place for rental income right now with avg rent at $1000/month but if you're thinking around the $130k range for duplexes any where near the U and are under the impression that they are at or above avg or livable condition I fear you're being a bit mislead.

This is an old thread so I hope u guys get this.

Then u live in the other side free....obviously this does not factor in vacancies, repairs etc.  

Let's look at this as attending Real Estate U.

What sources, sites, etc are u guys using to determine fair rent rates?