You would still save more money 9 out of 10 times living with your parents but being able to leverage a low down payment loan will allow you to get a very high ROI on relatively safe investment. 

If you paid over $375k MAYBE you could keep it because the taxes saved are so low.

Ask them how well they know the neighborhoods in your target market.It all boils down to their experience working with out of state investors.

Strong job growth, low unemployment rate, and strong population growth.

How do you know if a neighborhood is C class as an out of state investor? 

An eviction will make it challenging for her ever to find a quality rental in low vacancy areas.  

You are then open to r-1 land which in most cases tends to be in nicer neighborhoods.

Because so much real estate in the US or Canada wouldn't be profitable without ultra low interest rate (as many investors are discovering lately), we are obsessed with getting cheap financing.

I know I need to get a credit card and keep my utilization ratio low, but I wouldn't know much about the process of actually receiving a conventional loan from a bank or any type of loan.

A duplex strategy is a low-risk entry, saving on living expenses.