to do a joint venture/ partnership together you first need to seat and discuss the goals, the strategy and the “what if “ , exit strategy, the split, the financial contribution. 

We created a new entity 9 months ago and added some partners to the venture, as a result, I don't have much in the way of tax returns to take to a conventional lender.

If I was just starting out I'd do a joint venture with a more experienced investor on the first one or two.

Everywhere stated how DIY friendly it was.

That being said, can anyone give me some insight on diy painting kitchen cabinets and sticking on that fake brick over the outdated wall-tile on the kitchen walls before selling?

I'd venture to say the more you like your job, the more money you will make.

If you're trying to enter into some real business venture with a Real "angel investor", you'll have the money for an attorney.

I was drawn to these properties because with some hypothetical scenarios I have put to paper, one of these properties could nearly replace 100% of my wife's W-2 income (although she plans to keep working for the first 1-2 years of our real estate venture).

You could do this with good tenants and it doesnt have to be section 8  I would factor a minimum 20 k into the project if you diy and gc it yourself ofcourse that is a huge ballpark but creating a duplex will not be cheap.

I know you said you are not handy, but I bet you could handle painting and google can teach you a lot to DIY.