I am attracted to the lifestyle of real estate investors.

The 2nd is when the buyers financing falls through which is why CASH deals are so attractive. 

Similarly, homes attractive to owner occupants often do not make financial sense as a rental. 

@Sam Bernard What kind of condition are the units in currently and what kind of tenant class will you  be likely to attract?

However, if you keep you duplex updated and in good repair, you can attract very good quality tenants on par with SFH.The two biggest advantages of a duplex over a SFH is the better cash flow, not only when both are fully rented but also when you have one vs none possessing your property.  

We would like to start bidding at a price that will attract bidders as we do not want to take the property back. 

Hey @Stephen Anderson, I'm not sure about it being a good niche for new investors but a great niche to think about is the mobile home or manufactured housing niche.Many experts agree that this is the only remaining real estate asset class that is approaching rather than passing its prime for profitability with the consolidation phase barely having begun.Municipal zoning laws regarding new developments of this kind mean that owners of manufactured housing communities will have little or no local competition in the affordable housing market.Market indications are that this asset class will become increasingly attractive to larger institutional investors with an expected dramatically positive impact on property values.Should the economy face another downturn, the value of this asset class will still increase.Just an idea.

I'm guessing that beyond recovering the cost of the system(s) with a higher sale price I also expanded my market by attracting buyers who may not have otherwise been as interested in the property. 

Impressive numbers, just curious what are your year round attractions in La Quinta?

The “investor friendly” credit union representative told me it would be a challenge for me to get a loan based on my current situation, outlined below:1) I am an out of state freelancer and my $40K income last year is a summation of 5 different W2s. 2) My rent expense is almost 40% of my income (I live out of state in LA)I will not accept “no” as an answer because I know I am good for the loan and can generate the income needed to make my monthly mortgage payment once I move to UT.