I live in the greater Maryland  area.

I am new in BP, and I am looking to understand where I start with learning about REI.I currently live in New York which it's not a good place to start investing.i know the difference between STR,MTR,LTR....

I'd recommend working with a good strong property manager that lives in that area that can check on them.

I am an out of state Investor and I know a lot of you live and invest in St.

It's not quite as easy as renting out two sides of a duplex, but with the right marketing and management you could rent out the extra unit to supplement the mortgage payment. 

Theres someone living in the side that I will be occupying until the 1st of February, but since I JUST became the owner, would it make sense to reach out and ask them something like "Hey its __ the new owner, just checking in to see how you're doing.

Usually, this is a sign of stability and a preview of the types of people who live in the area. 

I have great tenants, because I refuse to buy a property I wouldn’t be willing to live in myself.

For scaling your portfolio, consider house hacking another multi-family property to minimize living expenses while building equity.

I buy homes as a primary residence with 5% down and move into them keeping my previous as a rental and the area that I live doesn't have new builds that would work for us, otherwise I would buy a new build.