Then align your lender, as with zero experience I do not think you will get approval out of the gates unless you have a huge W2 and large down.

After reviewing the comps and that area I don’t have much confidence in that $200k bank valuation; low to mid $100k seems more aligned with the other homes in that area.

My recommended place for you to start for you would be to find an agent/wholesaler/partner that you trust and start by asking them about the deals they aligned their past investors with and why.

It's finally time to make moves, and I thought some perspective from the board might help me align my thoughts with reality.Here are 2 Pensacola duplex's I'm evaluating and comparing.

or I'm just getting too excited about the possibilities and ignoring the fact that its going to take a lot to get the stars aligned?

While networking, you'll see deals that may not be right for you or align with your current goals - but you'll still be crunching numbers and analyzing properties.

An appraiser's value should be in alignment with what buyers in the market are paying for similar properties with reasonable adjustments for respective differences.

The trick here is finding a rep that understands your business and can structure the loans so that they align well with your goals and limitations. 

The stars aligned on a listing appointment.

The exception to this might be if the PM was not aligned with your interests in a suit, i.e. they were countersuing you for some issue that they were being sued for or vice versa.