We did some cosmetic improvements to the exterior and interior.

Plus putting the money into improving the rental will allow you to leverage it for more in the future.  

I was interested in the long term rental play with this duplex in addition to house hacking to improve my balance sheet now.

Improvements to the property will not be reimbursed if the previous owner redeems the property from you. 

Read self help, books on improving your personal skills, how to effectively understand what people want and what you want from them, your ability to communicate with the people you want to be more connected with starts with your EQ, of course rich dad poor dad is a great start, but having a good foundation in communication, and practicing it daily will help you grow, you can learn real estate anywhere, people skills is an in the trenches skill, start with smiling at strangers and getting smile back its the simplest form of an exchange.

Some parts just fabricate them (the flatter joint piece). 

The main items ypu want to focus on now when running your calculator is the debt service (mortgage), taxes, insurance, maintenance, Capex (if property is in excellent shape and doesnt need any major improvements then this figure does not need to be quite 10%), vacancy (talk to PM), landlord required utilities (if any), lawn care snow removal (if applicable).

No more partnerships, joint ventures, syndications, etc. 

Have a client that rents to college students so they almost always have a parent sign as guarantor. usually they own a home so there is an asset there to attach.Also you want it spelled out that each tenant is joint and several liable for the rent.

The main goal I have this year is to improve my systems and structures around finances and delegate that out.