Direct access to the gulf too. 

This way you wouldn't need to share living space with your tenants and you'd generate more income.

As out of state investors, my partner and I have extra costs that local investors don't always have to account for (IE: local can self-managing, access a local handyman, leverage existing relationships, etc.).

It's a bit over 2 hours but still pretty accessible.  

In addition, these new furnaces are direct vented (they do not take combustion air from the conditioned space) and the natural gas ones do not require a chimney (which means that big source of heat loss can be stoppered or removed).If you are paying utilities, a new furnace will pay for itself.  

Probably going to be a real challenge to find a wholesale deal with that much space that will meet the other needs of your family (good school district).

Both units are identical floor plans and I was able to add a third bedroom (making each unit a 3 bed 2 bath) and tear out the kitchen pantries creating twice as much counter space as before with a much more open floorplan.

I'm in discussions with a seller to buy a duplex in Concord NH that has great space on the second and third floor of an attached double-bay over-sized garage to add two 1BR units.

When owners of property we manage ask how long will it take to 'turn it over' the question really translates to this:  IF the property is 'rent-ready' (showable), IF we have access, IF it priced according to market, THEN it normally takes 2--3 weeks for a vetted, fully qualified tenant applicant to sign a lease.3. 

My ideas at this point are to remove the deck and make the room areas a step down, and recreate the deck later as stairs to access.