My husband and I want to purchase a duplex in Salt Lake City but are divided between a legal duplex and a sfh with basement rental.

I'd start at Salt Lake City and then progressively move outward (from what I hear though, you will need a Mormon PM.)Tim

Repairman have to be careful what they say to residents because they will take everything with a grain of salt.

A lot of the information in the forums is dated, so take the older stuff with a grain of salt.

Current occupation is insurance agent in Salt Lake City.  

You create the equity in a deal pretty much out of thin air when you buy.That is the value of a good wholesaler.If you create a lot of equity, you can charge a higher fee and any buyer worth his salt, who can see the upside you have created for him, should not really care what your fee is.If you do not create enough equity on the buy, you do not deserve a high fee and you should charge a reasonably modest fee.That said, be flexible and know when to charge more or less or nothing at all if necessary as @Bruce Wuollet said. 

I want to find an honest to goodness, active, successful real estate investor or two in Utah, preferably in the Salt Lake Valley area so we can actually meet in person often, perhaps over coffee, learn more about each other and become friends.

The fact is, there are NO duplex lots for sale anywhere in ALL of Salt Lake OR Utah County.

I am a broker so take this with a grain of salt but you might want to look at hiring a commercial broker (not just a broker who does residential and commercial but one who specializes in commercial only) to represent you in the purchase (typically they are paid by the listing broker through a co-op fee, if not then you could just write their commission into the offer) their knowledge help you in evaluating the deal and they would not have any kind of fiduciary responsibility to seller so they should be able to give you an honest assessment.

I looked at their web site, and I'd take that CDPE designation with a grain of salt.