Even if the home is in impeccable condition and you actually own the dirt it doesn't mean much if there's a lot of PRE HUD home or if the development itself is in a blighted neighborhood that's going downhill.

The house was actually a 3 bed, 1.5 bath.

This is my first house purchase and I would have to live in it for a while before I could even think of selling or renting it out.The inspector was awesome and actually flips houses on the side. 

I have a number of other properties like it and mostly bought special coverage replacement cost (RC) and one property has broad ACV (actual cash value).  

It is actually a federal crime to alter/repair a HUD property prior to closing.  

@Matthew Paul for that money that you have allocated to real estate investing, aren't you actually losing 2% a year to inflation.

@Adrienne Bryson That's awesome to hear @Michael McDevitt sounds like the normal timeline, and that's exactly what I plan on doing in between deciding and actually landing my first deal.

So here you would actually have to pay for an inspection and supply the report to the seller.

Is it actually fixed to the house? 

., income + appreciation).By the way, I assumed that the duplex was actually a single unit. $550K for two units would have been a steal ;-)Let me know if you need some help finding another rental.