This includes crucial details such as the rent amount, lease duration, and any specific rules or regulations that they are required to adhere to during their time as a tenant.

The second option obviously will require us to take on loans but we will have enough to cover 50% of each house as down payment.

@Kenneth Bentley-  1) if you already have a mortgage on the rental property in question - any heloc  you would place on the proeprty would be required to be in  2nd position and not possible to do a " 1st lien heloc "  2) there are not many HELOC lenders  for rental properties  

I'm sure it's profitable, but idk if I wanna deal with the fallout of the clientele who would be attracted to the area.It would be owner-occupied, but I wouldn't be super happy about having that be a requirement to operate since that would force me into an awkward position if I wanted to use owner-occupied financing in a future purchase.

When we rep startups, though they are still traditionally a practicing doctor with a fairly high net worth, and we are mostly able to do the deals because the LL's require a 10 year deal, we traditionally get 2 five year options to renew, and the LL generally requires a personal guarantee. 

Current rates / down payment requirements for a >4 unit building.It would appear to me that this market is more about appreciation of the asset than large cash flow.I am not looking to house hack, flip etc.

While it requires some effort to analyze all these aspects, thorough research will help you determine if investing in a duplex is the right first step for you.

To achieve this, you need a passive income source that meets three requirements to mitigate long-term risk:Rents must outpace inflation.

It requires open, notorious, hostile use under color of title for a continuous 10 year period. 

A minimum of 620 is required for most conventional loans.