Beg family and friends to fund it for you.They "might" do it if they see you've learned a lot and your business plan sounds very solid.How do I know this "might" work?

If I would require some documentation from the city, would that trigger them to do the property lookup?

Quote from @Patricio Acosta: First comment I would say is do not buy something because it feels good.

How do I know which questions to ask to ensure the property manager is performing at its best?

Going direct instead of having a GC do the work will save you money too since that GC will put a percentage on top of work. 

(I don't have $10k liquid, are there other options or do I just need to save-up for a few months?)

Quote from @Sami Gren: I start by making the original tenant fill out a form requesting to add a new renter, and they pay me a $50 processing fee (I charge a $50 fee any time I make changes to an existing lease). 

I own my current primary residence & have about 140K in equity.

Everyone's favorite answer in real estate---"it depends".That being said, you have to start somewhere to figure that out.

Quote from @Greg Gallucci: I'm starting to look into the Huntsville market.