I'm not sure what your financing strategy is for your early phases, but it will save you time and money in the long run if you're familiar with all your options now.

He does not have any capitol saved or home equity and would need some income while he does the work which would come out of my budget.

Was it saved from the rentals you already own?

You would instantly save on taxes by moving to another state.

Be sure to save your funds from arbitraging and buy property when your market is a buyer's market.

I put $25,000 into repairs, but could have saved $5,000 if I had gone with the GC's people instead of my own (at the time I had not quite settled on the GC). 

You say you can afford the mortgage even if the other unit is vacant but that you don't have extra cash for the other expenses of being a landlord.So...instead of buying a single-family home instead, can you buy the duplex, keep up with the mortgage, sit on the other unit for a while until you've saved up some cash, then rent it out?

I'm looking at plopping my life savings into my first house.

We are currently paying more than double our mortgage to get rid of this debt, but we could slow that down to save for a down payment on another house.

He can afford to bring the mortgage current with his savings but can't afford to pay cash for the home and wanted to get a VA loan.