Included in my cost is new bath soap, deodorant soap, dish soap, hand soap, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, and occasionally bath towels and bed sheets.

You have to value your time - if you have the time to fix them up, then the deal is solid...if you don't have time to swing a hammer, slop some paint on, or replace a toilet, then you're better off going retail.One frustrating thing is there are many folks these days that are buying some of these run down homes  then attempting to rent them out or seller finance them on the condition that you make the repairs. 

I was wondering if there was an area on bigger pockets for people either with those skills or people who are  looking for blueprints for a remodel or other items that may go along with renovation/newer construction work that could be involved in real estate investing?

I have used Edgar Rodriguez with TexTile for remodels.

I started investing roughly 6 months ago, buying my first duplex in May (54k pp, owe 48k on mortgage) payment with TI is $480/mo, no tenants as it is under remodel.

Or see if you can get one of those home improvement shows to remodel it for you for residential use.  

Tell them you want them to leave for remodeling and give them 60 days, in writing, and have them sign.

A retail contractor deals more with one offs such as home owner remodels, an investor friendly contractor is expecting to do multiple jobs and stay busy, thus keeping their subs busy, and will do the work for less of an upcharge.Once you have those two numbers figured out then it's just plug and play like stated above.

I took advantage of the opportunity to remodel the unit, although I didn't try to charge the insurance company for that. 

The house has been winterized by HUD so the well, toilets, septic, electric, etc. aren't on and the lines are presumably filled with an antifreeze of some sort.