Recently I purchased a property with cash even though a cash purchase reduced my ROI by a lot.  

My current plan is to do a little house hacking and buy a duplex to reduce my monthly expense of $1700 on rent while renting out the other side of the duplex.

In America, small business is being increasingly looked upon as a criminal behavior by both the public and governments and our society is extremely litigious. 

And then I started doing the math on the purchase prices (which were greatly reduced obviously) versus the rents and I just didn't see how that couldn't work.Its not as easy as it sounds.

My main benefits are;You dont have to bother with another Realtor to go look at houses or make offers.Gives you credibility from the public's perspective.Taking the course and passing the exam takes dedication and time but is worth it to give you a good foundation.What I love best of all it saves you on commission since you are the buyers agent and eventually may want to become a broker-in-charge and save all of the commission on your side.

I don't know about tenant/landlord laws in Connecticut, but you may want to take that into account too.The odds of your tenant fighting a small charge for the carpet--slim, but every dealing you have with a tenant builds a public image of you (not to mention speaks to your character).If the carpet is only a year old, then I, personally, would charge them replacement cost... any older than that, and it would be a depreciated replacement cost.The fact that you were going to replace the carpet (though it may speak to the carpets age) wouldn't directly have any influence in my decision to dock the security deposit.

I believe MN has a 6 month right of redemption whether its judicial (lawsuit) or non-judicial (Foreclosure by publication, versus lawsuit).

Seller agrees to apply $500/mo towards a reduction in the final purchase price"This was quite generous, since the going rent rate is easily $1600/mo in my area.So, if you don't buy, there is no price to reduce, but I guess it should have stated that it was forfeited altogether.  

Keep in mind overhead/cap x is delayed, not reduced.

Your risk is reduced because you are not an owner of the property, and you are not the one flipping the home.