Indy is still very affordable. 

Needless to say, this place needs repairs.The owner said he can no longer afford to manage the property and gave us 60 notice so he can sell...I assume to cut his losses (and headaches).

Many people new to the industry are just enamored with the idea of "CRE" but there are many different facets or ways to plug in, as noted above.

Other than a duplex style, what type of small-ish build outs would be affordable but also be most convenient for house hacking or renting out to a tentant without interacting with them as much?

Many factors to consider like - Can the residents afford an increase, are they great residents, am I getting a decent ROI, do I want to create the risk of turnover, etc. 

But the name of the game is skate to where the puck is going....this market seems to have a vibe of affordable housing, space, yard, single family, etc... in my opinion Not sure about NY, but Cleveland has pockets of massive appreciation.Tremont, Lakewood, Ohio city - all neighborhoods of 2x-4x appreciation over 7-10 year horizon..... not sure now as I never had the stomach for the risk/reward.I always operate in the same market since I’m a high velocity flipper and deals exist all over the Midwest key is building relationships and trust in your market.

Get them both to at least acknowledge it, and her to sign a new lease with just her on it, you probably also want to verify that she can afford the unit without her husband's contribution, she obviously thinks she can but you also don't want her paying 75% of her income towards rent.

But if you take the profit margins out from others to do so does that not prevent them from being able to afford to do those same efficient upgrades?

(The fact that symphony musicians cannot afford the lifestyle where tuxedoes are worn was not considered.)

@Anthony WalkerIf you can afford it, let a property management (PM) do it for you.