P.S  I'd like to begin working on my loan pre-qualification so if you know of any solid lenders for first time buyers I'd appeciate it.  

So why waste the time and money to Refinance if you already have a conventional 30 year mortgage.

To locate absentee owners, I think often, it's a waste of time.Out of curiosity, I googled skip tracing, and there's quite a few discussions of the subject out there, and quite a few threads even in BP.My first job out of college was in the collections department of a finance company.

But as for pure appreciation potential, I’d wager that a good SFH will be a more solid bet than a condo in a tower (different than a condo in a small 2-4 bldg.)

That 80% figure is hard to obtain and usually reserved for borrower's with strong financial statements, experience in owning the type of property being purchased, and a solid A or B subject property.A more realistic LTV would be 75% or lower, perhaps as low as 60%. 

That should tell you, number-wise, if it’s a solid investment or not.

Taylor Cochran looks like your local market is pretty solid.

BeasleyI am not an active investor in the Scranton area but I know Parasole PM is a solid company. 

Does anyone know of a solid, fair priced builder in the Denver metro area who could help with 1-7 single family / duplex type buildings over the next year?

The more you delay with this the more money and time you will be wasting trying to get them out yourself.