After diligent searching there are ZERO duplexes for sale within an hours drive of my work place.

Is there something like off-market commercial deals where I can search them (like Investorlift or New Western for residential) ? 

My wife and I on the search for our 5th property and looking to go for a 6-12 unit multi-family.

I just did a quick search of the area and there appears to be an ample supply of properties with an average rent of approximately $1.10/SF.

I can add some insight and if you search around on other forums hear you’ll find the same …While investment wise it may be good please do your background on which wolves your trying to den with . 

The easiest is doing a search for REI Meetups.

Respond quickly and professionally to inquiries to show you’re reliable.Leverage Airbnb's New Listing Boost: Airbnb often prioritizes new listings in search results for a short time.

That's a good idea and now I'll have a buy box for searching.

(I just searched MLS and there are 589 right now)  that is not counting off-market and wholesalers. 

So, you can do a land contract for 12 months, which should allow lender to credit you full value of the land vs the purchase price, but the loan will pay off the land contract, so the lender maintains first lien position.Can't help you with the rest of your question, but you should be able to search for "CPA" here on BP to find experts to reach out to.