These items cause far more routine damage than tornadoes and insurance rarely covers the small, preventable issues as the cost is typically below your deductible.

In the meantime, make sure you’ve got good insurance and an umbrella policy, which usually covers most risks for beginners.

Good news and bad newsGood news: your wife's REPS eligibility covers you, as well.Bad news: you need to meet the material participation test with respect to these two properties.

Quote from @Theresa Harris:  If she can get a loan to cover what she would have to pay her ex, then she'd also need to get roommates or something to help her with the mortgage payments. 

If the HOA was prudent in hiring this vendor, the HOA should have collected an insurance certificate and CGL endorsement listing the HOA as additional insured and the service contract should contain an indemnification provision in the contract that should cover HOA members property.

taking this from a dup to a single family would not allow the rents needed to cover the investment leaving us without the option to hold and rent, like we intended to in this area.

@Aswin SinghSince you will be living in the duplex, you will want to get a homeowners policy, which will cover both the building, as well as your contents.  

Term is cheap, but its covering your younger years and provides protection against an early death.

Building an investor list is all about consistent deal flow and clear criteria, so sharing the types of properties you’ll be sourcing and the areas you cover will help people plug in quickly.

The difference is likely the fees.It depends on how much the equities are making in the 401K and what rate of return you can make with real estate.If you can make 2% more annually with real estate, I will argue that you the extra return will more than cover the penalties and provide you more flexibility with access to your own funds.