@Zeina Awad great question and one that we have helped many new investors like yourself answer.

One that just launched is ShopSTR.

We would live in one half, rent the other and move out within a year once we find a better place to call home and then have both sides rented.2) We buy a home in our own names, not in LLC, with cash.3) Once we get jobs we can buy more duplexes in a different LLC, hopefully with a loan using equity from perhaps the other properties?

You FEEL one, and you KNOW the other.

or even better is there some tricks to set up quickbook with one account but handling all these companies?

I will add my anecdotes: flipping has been good to me and my family, but we do it one the side, when we find a good deal. 

This is messy, but try to bear with me:I have two Stessa Accounts: one for my personal properties(account "S1") and another for properties held in a partnership (account "S2"). 

We only have one small property, so I manually adjust the price based on what I see for the month. 

There's better one.

being that this is you first investment property is there a reason that you are not getting help on this one?