@Abena YeboaIf MLS access is your primary driver....its not worth it.

., you'll probably do a lot better buying as close to Downtown or Domain where appreciation is  a big driver, than if you were to buy on the outskirts where your cashflow will be better. 

I don’t drive many miles a year I’m a truck driver that is only home 3 days a week.

Typically if a duplex is in an area with lots of other rental properties it may sell lower than an area of single family homes with mostly owner occupant homes, so location may also be the driver behind the value differential. 

In your area look for the potential economic drivers that are operational today that may attract outside investment.

They do check occupancy cross reference with utility records, drivers license info, insurance to name a few.

With military pay it's different, you can claim that with what ever state you have your residence in (state you have your driver's license).

Is it smart to use a lock box and allow the potential renter to view the property unattended as long as you get a copy of their drivers license?

We haven't even done our first deal yet (unless you count our primary residence which we're also thinking differently about at this point, thinking about potential value add's and potentially renting it out if we could find something else where the numbers make sense) but we're already hooked.I am a professional delivery driver for a fairly large company and for the last month during work I've been burning through the BP podcasts at a very rapid rate. 

I pay my son and his friend (son does not have drivers license) to collect monthly ($15/month - they drive slightly close by to get reptile food weekly) but dealing with repairs is still a hassle.