Big tools (Like air scrubbers, concrete mixers, scaffolding) are a little bit harder to misplace and tend to stay until they get moved to the next job... unless we're in a bad neighborhood, in which case we aren't working there anyway!

I do agree that an in-house maintenance crew makes getting small repairs done quickly, however, we have also found the repairs tend to be of a poor quality or lazy choices are made... especially when they know you can't easily come and check up on them.

South NJ also has good areas and the property values tend to be lower, so your $100k would probably get you more options.

Tax regulations don't go into it too much because they just tend to state "basis of asset" - the IRS doesn't get into telling you how to calculate basis too much, so you'll have to fall back on GAAP for that.

So, most heirs tend to lose the home to foreclosure if they can't come up with the cash or finance the homes.

The MLS / Zillow listings tend to not have a lot of detail, for example type of heating and cooling is often vague, whether there's existing tenants isn't often stated (although if MLS has a "gross monthly rent" figure I'm assuming it is), and there's often only pictures from one of the two units so it's hard to tell what shape both units are in, or what their layouts, features, and amenities are.So that I'm not sending my agent to view every duplex in town (especially because I'd imagine the listing agent would have to find a time that both tenants agreed to), is there a way to more quickly weed in or out all these faceless duplexes?

Also, the insides of this building look like they haven't been tended to at all and has many safety concerns that my inspector had brought to my attention (BTW, great time to disclose that I'm doing an FHA loan).

My direct mails in Los Angeles and Long Beach tend to have a response rate around 1% or perhaps less.  

Plus, single families tend to be in nicer areas and attract a more stable, higher quality tenants.

(It tends to work down that way.