one of the seller's motivations is to avoid a big captial gains hit - so I'll have to look into how that fits into the equation.

If you try to find a "one size fits all" strategy, you will lose out on so many opportunities that it will take you longer to get on that ship around the world. 

If you know anyone who I would be a good fit please share my post with them.

But the size of your duplex will have to fit into the requirements of your zoning, so that is already laid out.  

Pick a city you understand, and that fits your criteria.Best of luck!

So if you have 10 properties and an LLC for each property you will have 10 account numbers to keep track of, 10 check books to keep, 10 different sets of books(potentially) and 10 different tax returns(if they are multi-membered).I would consult with an attorney to see what the right fit is with the amount of properties per LLC.

I'm chatting with a few agents on here (from KW and eXP Reality), and it seems like it would be a better fit for me with my RE goals

It can take time and not every company is the perfect one size fits all fit.

It was either this or go into health and wellness and become a personal trainer/coach/nutritionist as that fits my lifestyle and routine.  

It was either this or go into health and wellness and become a personal trainer/coach/nutritionist as that fits my lifestyle and routine.