I plan on starting an llc for the two props next year, so I can start fresh. let me know if you can give me any guidance on my situation, this is my first year and I have a lot to learn thanks. 

@Bill GoodlandI'm fresh off the bat as well and the biggest thing that has helped me come along so quick is just simply taking action.

Yeah I want to try and work under someone for starters I might be able to get some contacts too, I have a cousin in Fort Wayne, he was doing real estate there when he was about 25 years old he had multi million dollar deal going on building a whole area of like 250 homes for low cost living, but the lady he was working with at the Bank was some Russian woman or something, & she stole all the money when the deal was going down and left the country and my cousin was under fraud investigation by the FBI that got dropped after 5 years or so, But i'm sure he knows some of the locals that are reputable. 

The best way to reduce it is to be very thorough in your due diligence (investigating the property and situation), but it never truly goes away - at least it hasn't for me!

Since I've bought the duplex I have made improvements to the one side of the duplexthat I currently live in, new windows, refinished floors/cabinets, fresh paint, etc, and I'm wondering how that would factor into the 20% equity in addition to the monthly mortgage payments.

One of the best benefits of networking on LinkedIn is that we can easily get to know about each others businesses and hopefully I can add value to you or your network.My business focuses on selling discounted (non-listed) real estate deals here in Arizona and I have a very aggressive ongoing marketing campaign that consistently brings me in fresh deals every week.

If you get an accepted contract - make sure you do a lien/judgment and title search - this will tell you what you are get and what trouble is in the "chain of title".Here are some ideas -Investigate - try to look at the property - inspect - chat with the sellers - get comps (but don't make an offer) what is their balance - who else do they owe?

My guess is that owners go to their attorney who will charge them a few grand to investigate, interview, establish findings and any defense if needed, if they don't have a compliance program they are probably caught with their pants down in a reaction mode with a checkbook at the ready......just a guess. :)

I just needed to figure out who to reach out to in order to find those fresh deals that other wholesalers haven't flooded the market with!

A fresh coat of paint goes a long ways.