Currently own SFH, but no small apartments. Would like to expand if the deal makes sense, but Long Island is tough. Lookg ing at these numbers with an asking price of $1.3 million, current owner has owned for 5 years ...

Big signs out front and get creative with tenant mix depending on location. 

There are a lot of these duplexes mixed in with single family starter homes in this area.

Looking to purchase a multi family in Northern California with mostly private money and do mixed long term and vacation rental.

From the two responses above, one thing is clear, I won't be mixing my dropshipping income with the Rental income. 

I do a mix on my small portfolio.

They also don't seem to like the esthetic of having duplexes mixed in with single family homes anymore.

It just doesn’t seem right to me that all parties agreed AT the auction, contract was established, deposit check taken, and then the following day someone else gets tossed into the mix.

Thanks to the excellent VA loan you'll have the chance to put 0% down on either the construction/remodel or the move-in-ready home.If it is important for you all to renovate a home and make it just right for you, then waiting for the VA Renovation loans to becomes available again doesn't seem too risky to me (purely my opinion and based on speculation) since it is unlikely that the government is going to feel stable enough to deal with the economic fallout of raising interest rates in the next few years.However, if you all would be delighted by a move-in-ready home then that route will be simpler and more predictable. 

I still have mixed feelings about it; but, overall, I feel confident in the decision because it freed up cash we could use.