Lots of old houses valuing over 500k and up to 1M (local house price in my market is 167k).

When you remodel/rehab a property look at the surrounding market and see what is "expected" for properties of that type that have been remodeled. 3.

My weekly podcasts will also help you get a better feel of our market and then might help you learn our market quicker and with more data. 

@Todd Anderson totally agree on finding a mentor in the market to learn from.

It sounds like your current property manager may not be marketing the rental effectively, and the fact that it's listed incorrectly as an apartment instead of a duplex could be turning off potential renters.

I have been investing in the stock market for 5 years and I am now transitioning over to real estate after doing my research on real estate for the past two years. 

If looking to change the market value of property, well there you go. 

Also, we're not getting anywhere near market rent for the home since its only half the home being rented, however we do feel that we're getting what similar efficiencies are getting in the neighborhood.   

I'd be happy to visit about the market.  

Or you could decide that you're going to hang in there for family/legacy reasons, and keep raising the rent whenever the market supports... and whenever you turn over a set of tenants.