Hello, my name is Jennifer.  I am new to BP and my partner and I are in the process of buying our first duplex in St. Paul, Minnesota.  I wanted to introduce myself and start with a question.

Some of the books I have ready (maybe it was Heather & Brandon Turner's "The Book on Managing Rental Properties," or "Landlording on Autopilot") suggest that it can be helpful to hold yourself out to tenants as the "Property Manager" and avoid telling them you are the ultimate owner/landlord. That way you can let the theoretical "owner" be the bad guy and say you are just following the policies.  

The duplex is only half a mile from our house, in the same neighborhood but far enough away that the sellers or other people on that block are not "neighbors" that we know.  If we end up with neighbor/friends in common, they may easily learn from these common contacts that we are not only the property managers, but we actually own this duplex.  (We have told a few of our friends and neighbors, being excited about getting our first property).  It feels weird to purposely refer to some fictitious "owner" if there is a decent chance they may come to learn the real owners live nearby too and are in fact ourselves.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, and how did you approach it? 

Thank you!