I'm considering a fixer upper to retain as a rental but need guidance on how to pick reputable contractors.  

Hard to give good advice without more info, but since You are single no kids it's hard to beat buying a single family fixer upper and living in it for two years and then selling for tax free profits....I'm a big fan of Waltham these days $.02 

I used a hard money loan to purchase this off market deal.I rehabbed the upper two units within two and a half weeks and have a renter already lined up for one unit.

And what is your price range and are you looking for turn-key properties or something along the lines of a "fixer upper"?

Currently I think 200k being the upper limit of investment makes the most sense and is within my risk tolerance range.

Its A class in the upper mid west..

I'm looking at a duplex opportunity that says "Corporate tenant, PadSplit has a low-risk 2-year master lease that protects your investment and alleviates landlord headaches.", this is the first time I hear about PadSp...

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Is any body having issues with less than scrupulous lenders or getting approached by scam artists posing as landers?

I bought the main house as a fixer upper and forced a modest amount of equity prior to the construction of the ADU, I did not incur a negative equity position.