I've suggested vendor financing but it's not very popular here and a rare occurrence what other suggestions can you make to finance the property.  

In essence this becomes a popularity poll question...would you rather house hack or invest out of state...BOTH can make you a lot of money. 

I know AIRBNB is popular here which is another option. 

Some very popular markets have stagnant or declining populations and virtually no job growth but they are popular because they are cheap.

probably not the most popular opinion but my personal belief is that saving the 20% is a waste of time. if it takes you a year to save up that much money the market could go up, interest rates could go up, you're missing out on tax breaks and the reality is you're going to be living in one side of the duplex and renting the other one out to cover 80% + of your mortgage.... kind of a no brainer in my eyes but everyone has their reasons.... if the numbers work, I don't worry about PMI

There are plenty of multifamily-based books and people have varying opinions on which ones are the best, so just find a couple popular ones and start with those.  

One of the more popular options is Podio.

Although, I would bet that 30-year is by far the most popular.

@Teho Kim Texas is crazy popular for investing right now.

Uptown is so popular and in demand, even for non-students.