Newbie Soon-to-be Landlord Questions

[Mitch Price]

Hello, my name is Mitch. I am currently in the process of qualifying for my first investment property. It will be a duplex where I will own/ occupy and rent out the other side to a tenant. I have a few question though in regards to preparing for the tenant. 

1. Should I buy for maximum equity or more so cash flow (I'm thinking ca$hflow, I could be wrong)?

2. Being young, should I consider bring in a property manager and not let the tenant know I own the property or be "hands on" and manage as much as I can myself to cut down on overhead? 

3. In regards to lease, is it more attractive to have a month to month option or ironclad 6-12 month lease? And once tenant is in place should I continue to market the property just to make sure it is all ways occupied? 

Please let me know if someone has any experience with this situations. Thanks in advance. Your friend, Mitch.