Having said that, though, nobody knows for sure when, if, or how soft it will get ... 

When doing this check to see if they are instant services providing soft background/credit checks, or if they are providing more thorough hard checks like iscscreening.com.4) Here is a link to the national Fair Housing Laws, which I strongly recommend familiarizing yourself with.

It costs 10% to sell w agents fees and closing costs and negotiation.Then you pay tax on profits.Why are you a soft touch w $600 rent? 

If nothing else, you practice your pitch skills.If your market is soft, he will not get any other offers, either.

It sounds like you have a soft, or "forgivable" second mortgage on your current duplex. 

Soft costs also look low. 20-25% might be more common.

can you log wood small wood lots in your area without to much environmental hassles and do you have soft wood or hard wood forests.. are there Mills within one hour truck?

Sales work is a great way to grow your soft skills / human relations skills.

To do it well it demands that you can:1) Market to motivated sellers and find them.2) Be able to talk to them, identify their problem and solve it in an equatable way.3) Truly understand rehab costs and what it would take to pull it off, both from a hard perspective but also a soft perspective (taking in to account financing costs).4) Understand the market so you can get it sold.There is lots of stuff I am leaving out, but in my opinion start with the hard stuff!  

You buy an older used home for 2-3 k cash, paint over the wood paneling to brighten the room up, fix any soft spots on the floor, put in some outdoor carpeting, and VIOLA- quick sale for 5-7k, allowing you to build more of a war chest.