.- Working a W2 as a firefighter, posting and consuming content- Leaving my W2 to dive deep into real estate investing and working as an agent... and still watching/posting content all while business was ok - Deleting social media apps (one have one on my phone that I use 10 minutes or less a day), diving deep into building my business and skills which have drastically increased due to pure focus and increasing my business significantly- moral of the story... focus on the things you need to do in business (dollar productive activities) and life experiences while reducing consumption will increase your success  

Agents can quickly run comps so that would be helpful for you.

It may be worth having an experienced professional helping you and you could always try to get the seller to pay your agent’s fees.

Go to AirBNB app and research which areas have the most listings, that usually means that its a HOT area and if you run it right you can succeed.  

We are about to put in $15-$20k of our own money into it, beyond what insurance covered and I need help deciding how we should finance it. 

.- Suggest you try to network with other landlords in your area, check MeetUp app and others.Your other option is to hire an attorney, but understand you will have to pay them for your ignorance.

After talking to another family member they said they would be willing to go in on the duplex and offered to pay the $40,000 down payment and help with any repairs but they want to be "partners" or "own" a percentage of the duplex.

@Jeffrey HayesIf you post a link to the listing (usually Zillow) and/or the address then we will be able to help you.

They could not be more excited to help. 

You're helping me get onto something.