Ideally I want to make contact with the heirs, which I presume exist as evidenced by the maintenance work being done. 

I'm looking to do buy-and-hold investing in the Denver metro area, ideally multi-family, but at this point, I'm just ready to make that first purchase (and make the mistakes that go along with it) to get started.  

how do I deal with this since it’s a residential home with a commercial lease structure with elderly people living there.

I am away from home 50-66% of the year however so the work life balance is not ideal, especially when the volatility and future of the oil industry is taken into consideration.We currently "own" our home on a 30 year mortgage, paying $1226 per month (P&I, PMI, Taxes), with approximately $6000 of equity in our home.

Loopnet has a lot of retrofit duplexes but that middle range of 5-10 I agree would be ideal.

Looking for a reliable and well established property management company in Middlesex County in NJ that is reasonable and handles tenant rent collection, issues/repairs/emergencies as well as inspections and ideally some legal coverage.

The ideal situation would be to pick up a duplex, rent out the other side, and rent out the other room(s) on your side.

When filling out Schedule E should I claim it as:1. 3 different properties - 1 multi-family residence and 2 single family residences2. 1 property - commercial 3. 1 property - multi-family residenceI assume option 3 and that makes it easier to fill out, but I wanted to double check .Thanks,Andrew

While not ideal, would them paying the rent on the 1st and 15th help them and make them pay on time (meaning the 1st and 15th, not 5th and 20th)?

It can be done, but it's not ideal.