So if we have to move we could rent temporarily in cheap military housing then get another duplex?

Scranton has a few universities there, but i do not think it is known for getting high rents. although 6 bedrooms would only give you 250 / room, which is cheap for a student rental.

These would be all cash purchases, just wondering why some of them are so cheap relative to the rest.

So we all know that Baltimore City certain areas are cheap.

Nothing is ever 100% but I have tons of friends who would love the opportunity to live for fairly cheap so I have plenty of backup options in case someone bails!

For rentals I like cheap, If I am replacing something or fixing something for a tenant who has been with me over a year I will get something a little better than the cheapest.

I would look for areas that are depressed where I could buy cheap, but are likely to appreciate well over the next 20 years.

I'm very surprised to hear those kinds of terms for hard money, especially from someone coming from CA, where most of the cheap HMLs are. 

We don't want to be cheap landlords or anything (the house is in perfect condition on the inside), but I also don't want to be bullied into giving them something I'm not required to.

Labor and material costs in the Bay Area are on average $200-$250 per SqFt for brand new construction, so that's where I'm at a loss - even for a rehab of 3k SqFt, it shouldn't be that cheap.