Akron is a very blue city and are not very landlord friendly - source of income protections, etc... 

Ben Franklin used similar advice to turn an enemy into a friend (although his was asking to borrow a book).There are some caveats here, you cannot be wasting time thus you need to demonstrate that you are taking action. 

Does anyone know if this individual needs to be a W2 or can I hire on a 1099?

That may be a little too aggressive but I do enjoy landlord friendly states as opposed to the tenant friendly ones.

At that time, my friend encouraged me to get into real estate with the idea of creating passive income and wealth in future (via appreciation).

If you are not attached to the duplex, could be a good time to sell to developers who want to convert to individual condo units.

Start with your closest friends and family but they will invest with you because of your relationship not necessarily because of the real estate or your real estate acumen. 

I bought this property with a private interest free loan from a friend. the person i bought it from need cash fast so i offered them a low cash offer and they accepted.I had enough money saved up to rehab the house with my savings.

@Greg ReeseMost small investors will benefit by having the LLC created in the state where the property is located at.Creating an LLC in a state like Nevada, Delaware, Wyoming may be better for the big players if items such as charging orders, business friendly case law, anonymity are important to you.However, be mindful that setting up LLC's in those states will add to your costs as you may have increased annual fees for annual LLC fees + registered agent fees.

@Rich Davis "The difference is I'm in Maine, where the evictions laws lean landlord friendly.