Pay the bill yourself, then reimburse yourself by charging the tenants based on a formula.

Lumber and plywood went up to the sky and then came back down but not down to previous levels everything else rose and stuck.

That's the only way you will know if it's legal.In a true wholesale deal you are putting the property under contract, then either assigning your contract or double closing. 

But I'm looking for the cheapest option to acquire for now and then work my way up to multifamily.

There are the obvious pros/cons of a duplex but then there are the non-obvious ones that come with being in Detroit.I actually have a fantastic article about this I can share but I'm unable to link to it in this post.

I think you should start by understanding what it is your investors want out of the deal, analyze how the returns compare to traditional investments, and then see where you fit into this deal. 

I will use the 2 weeks off I have every month to researchI have owned a rental property in the past and it was extremely lucrative for me, and I didn’t even know what I was doing then haha! 

If your priority is cash flow, then you need to look at markets that support that.

Then I work with a local insurance broker give them a valuation of the property, explain that the property is being rented and by how many people.

And then you hit the christmas time.