An abundance of “forced sellers” drove prices lower while credit markets were frozen.This background of selling meant that you could basically buy almost anything between 2008 and 2012 and you would be sitting on a nice profit today.

As I've mentioned in another post, I want to refocus my business on taking on clients looking to buy or sell in the Milwaukee area and to focus on investors because I know my experience in both being a landlord since 1999 and having rehabbed/flipped many homes gives me a good perspective and background on things related to investing.

A newly acquired duplex on one side it's a 2/1 (or technically a 1/1 with a den as the den doesn't have a closet) I have a kitchen area - fairly standard - all along one wall, the wall being 11' 2" long and all the cabinets and appliances need to be on that wall.Currently it's a blank wall, as everything was ripped out by previous owner before foreclosure.I am trying to get some input on the design and layout, not so much "which is better?"

I have no background in real estate (I've only been investing in stocks before), but I am familiar enough with how the typical process works from reading.

I will give some back ground first, I've been investing lightly for around 10 years.

You really have to look at the total picture (credit, income, employment history, previous rent history, evictions, criminal background etc.).

@Damon Armstrong I did have a little bit of a background before going in.

Alternatively you could actually close on the property and then immediately resell it to one of your buyers (aka "double close" in which case you ARE the actual buyer for the seller, even though it is technically a wholesale).

They leverage economies of scale and relationships built over time that you have no access to at this point.There are arguments to be made on both sides, particularly in the first couple of flips and if you have no construction background. 

We are looking to build our net worth through real estate investments; initially flip/fix as that is what we know best given our backgrounds but eventually move towards a buy/hold strategy.