Newbie military investor needs advice on next move

[Ashleigh Evans]

I'm moving to Mayport next month, and instead of renting an apartment I've been researching duplexes in the area that I could reside in while renting out the other. Multi-family homes seem to be scarce in the area, with the few available being over $100K. My initial plan was to either cash out refinance a home that I have in Atlanta to buy a MF property in Mayport,  but now I'm thinking about just getting an apartment. Key facts:

1) the property in Atlanta is a tax lien that I'll be finished rehabbing at the end of this month. I can't sell it until next month.

2) I haven't gotten the property appraised yet, but I'm guessing it'll appraise between 80-100K. 

3) I've never had an investor, and I'm not sure if this would be the type of situation in which you would use one. 

If I sold the house in Atlanta, would it be able to quality as a tax deferment? If I have to be in Mayport next month, would it be wiser to rent somewhere?

Help????