If you are thinking of renting, then that wouldn't make sense.

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

Then I’d use the cash flow to leverage future deals.

In 2020, the ground leveled out, then quickly shifted to hilly terrain.

Once you have done 100-200 deals you can really estimate in you head when you see a deal, so that 100 turns to 5 good ones within minutes and then 1 to get under contact with you to put an offer in. 

But then comes the bombshell..."

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.

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.

If you get 100% of the purchase price covered then you should have sufficient funds for the closing costs based on what you're saying. 

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