I know from searching the member area, there aren't many members in the Wiregrass Area to connect with, but I am eager expand my knowledge into the flipping side of real estate and look more into taking my career to the next level. 

The 80 yr old owner had a bad property manager on site, he cleaned every tenant out and started over with 15 new tenants, with only 4 available units, and slowly working on the rest. 

Is a duplex a bad idea?

And I agree and one of my biggest concerns is being in a bad position with the HOA by going against their wishes. 

I am not sure, but I think that's a bad plan. l don't think lenders are allowed to have recourse on retirement accounts.

I have no experience investing in real estate, but I'm educating myself daily to begin my REI career in the near future. 

Not only does it set a bad precedent, but what happens when the AC unit "that you provided" goes bad.

Also it might be a good idea to test out some more property managers now so that when you do get more units you aren't dealing with a bad one when there are too many units to handle yourself.

It might not be bad to throw up any current flips you may have going on.

A bad realtor won't even pick up a bar tab let alone a phone.