So I am actively looking for my first deal and was wondering if it is better to buy a duplex or a fixer upper first. 

The kicker to that is he will have to deliver one month's rent to the court within +-3 days and of course he will notAt that point the appeal will be dismissed and you would have to file for the Writ of Possession for the Constable to come out and supervise you and your crew(yes you will need bodies to move out his stuff).  

The roof should have at least ten years left for a turnkey.Missing the front gutter on the upper roof.The back yard comes up to the bank parking lot, but it's a bank, so that's probably not a big deal.Based only on the photos, and no walk-through, if the items I mentioned above had been done, then I'd say it'd be worth 40-45k.

Some are big fixer uppers, id guess, but others don't appear to be.

Well, for 5-plex, a commercial loan is needed, that is why I am opting for a 4-plex for now to get a conventional loan and lower down payment.I am looking for a realtor that I could work with, knows the central valley area and contractor/s for a  fixer-upper property to work with.Any advice, suggestions, or knowledge about a potential 4-plex investment property would be greatly appreciated.Thank you very much,Timz

Asking the seller to find you a tenant probably won't go over well, and if they did, they'd probably put in the first warm body available.

We recently acquired a fixer upper by buying it 'subject to.' 

Similarly you need other professionals, just not the same ones (or at the same rate) that syndicators will be paying (because dealing with securities is a specialized body of knowledge)

Is there a nice way of saying that I don't want a fixed up one; basically I want a fixer upper

Do the math.Assuming your $500/month "savings" (this is also assuming no vacancies or any other events that will draw from this savings), you would have $6k saved up per year.