With that out of the way, I agree with you that a 1% procurement rate may be part of a viable (though time-consuming) strategy.

Have you procured a demolition permit?  

This will help procure the most qualified tenant.

Also,  recently a member of the Upstate CREIA.My personal background consists of having previously managed self-owned town-homes in Massachusetts (born and raised), however, they were not procured in an investment mindset, but rather purchase, live in, move to next location and rent.  

There’s a spread of sources on the market, and as long as you have got a good and reliable set up, you may be able to procure capital.

The name of the game is getting the numbers to work and I can't see an investor(especially here in the USA) signing off on an exclusive agent agreement where they'd shell out $20K whether the agent is the procurer or not, at least not for any residential transactions.  

If necessary, I will also put together rough floor plans with notes & floor plan changes to help visualize the project.On my detailed scope of work, I will provide a list of the materials that are CFCI or OFCI (Contractor-Furnished, Contractor Installed or Owner Furnished Contractor Installed)...By limiting the contractors proposal to rough materials & labor, this gives me ample time to finalize the finish selections on the project.Once the finishes are selected I will make a bulk delivery from Lowes/Home Depot to have all or most of the materials on-site (sitting in the garage), ready to be installed by the contractor.Here are my thoughts on advantages / disadvantages of OFCI Finish Materials, & I would love to hear everyone's thoughts:Advantages of OFCI Finish MaterialsOwner takes risk on materials - cost, procurement, scheduling & delivery is Owner's responsibilityContractor has less estimating risk - Contractor eliminates the quantity survey, & material estimating from his scope...Less estimating = Less RiskContractor spends less time estimating - Contractor saves time estimating the project because he doesn't have to look up SKU#s and prices for all of the OFCI finish materialsMinimize material changes & material change orders - Owner can make material changes/fixture changes without hassling the contractor & requiring a change orderSaves Project Management Time - Owner spends his time procuring, purchasing & delivering materials to the job site, so the contractor doesn't have to...Owner can save money on the materials - During the planning period, the Owner can shop around, find coupons/deals to save money on materials...The Owner may also save on contractor markupOwner can build business credit & Southwest Airlines points by purchasing materials :)Disadvantages of OFCI Finish MaterialsOwner is responsible for procurement/scheduling - If the owner doesn't purchase the finish materials according to the schedule or doesn't purchase enough material, the project can be delayed, costing the Contractor time & moneyContractor loses out on extra markup on materials - Contractor will lose out on material mark-up...On the last point, Contractor Loses out on Material Markup - The contractor doesn't need the Owner's finish material cost to markup their bid...If the project has $10,000 worth of OFCI materials & the contractor typically marks up material 15%, then that's an extra $1,500 worth of material markup...What's preventing you from just bumping your labor estimate by $1,500?

I am worried though about my novice ability to find and procure a multiplex house hack for my first home that will cash flow nicely.

Hire a realtor to procure your tenant.

Is this happening in the duplex that you have or have you procured more properties since you filled out your profile?