You definitely give up on a few things - complete privacy (multi-families are old, with thin walls and creaky floors), sharing a backyard (we never felt comfortable having friends over and having too many beers on weekends or holidays), and we were always in landlord mode mentally (let us know if you need anything!

Perhaps a bridge lender would be more inclined to finance as long as you had a strong business plan. 

The kitchen and bath are different, and my side has a fenced-in privacy yard and off-street parking.

You manage the property for her, it's a long-term commitment, and what goes wrong with the deal is ALL ON YOU.Just ask yourself what could go wrong and how you'll be forced to resolve it to maintain a strong relationship with your MIL.

Depending on how strong your contract is, you could potentially take legal action against them for breach of contract if they sign with someone else and/or back out, but that is costly and takes a lot of time.

I'm not sure if the best practice for that is to just have a partner go visit, to build a really strong and trustworthy team, or if it's just crazy altogether.  

Still strong numbers (in the mid 20%!)

I do not have strong knowledge on these subjects, and was never taught about them from family, or school.

We offered above asking price with strong earnest money on the same day it hit the market.

The following applies to the three major tenant pools in Las Vegas, but I suspect it may be similar in other areas.In my demographic research, I found that tenant stay strongly correlates with monthly rent, as shown below.Comments on the three tenant pool segments:Transient - This tenant pool is primarily low-skilled hourly workers making little more than minimum wage.