My goal is to own some land so we have somewhere to come back to (my wife and I currently are nomadic) and also potentially short term rentals while away (rent to other RVers who need a spot).now my question: Would it be best to pay this for cash outright as 1 of our first investments?

But that is the sweet spot. 

Quote from @Maurie Smith: Detroit can indeed be a good spot for Section 8 investing.

Spot on.Personally, I'd do neither, but if forced to, absolutely the Duplex.

Is spot on.

Long story long, call me a ‘one percenter’ because I made it through interview #1 and was accepted into the program by the director—pretty cool, or so I thought.Immediately upon receiving an ‘offer’ to join, I was emailed a “Real Estate Profit Sharing Agreement’ to review and sign on the spot.

Jay was spot on in his response!

Gotcha well this is a good spot to be!

Dallas is a great spot for investing. 

A lot of times even if you can get the smell out it will leave permanent dark spots so you'll need to use a dark stain instead of natural wood.