As others said, don't look at it from a perspective of an owner, but a renter.

It looks like a fresh listing when it comes back on. 

painted and put fresh carpet in. remodeled the garage so i was able to rent the garage out for top dollar.

As a fresh agent it is essential to have a solid network to encourage you as well offer some leads. 

I know this is a difficult market from a LTR perspective, but I continue to be drawn to the idea of buying a duplex/triplex and renting it out for a few years until circumstances allow for us to wisely relocate there (want to let a child graduate from high school and then figure out what the employment situation will be). 

It's best to start fresh.

I know that in Indiana, buying cheap houses, demoing them, and building fresh is a solid strategy for flipping but having seen the list of permits required up there vs down here, I would advise to make sure that you have all your t's crossed and i's dotted. 

@Wa Chan It's not a home run but a solid base hit from a numbers perspective.

Thanks again for your perspectives again.

Looking at it from a return perspective, that $144,000 in ten years growing to $244,000 is less than 10% annualized return on cash.