I've heard of a couple 5% down options with PMI which drops off after about 7 years (as opposed to FHA insurance which never drops off).I really want to pursue these duplexes, but I want to be 100% sure that I can move forward with a multi-family purchase with 5% down or less immediately after.

Part of the reason for this is it is expensive to have a couple architects on site for a few hours just to take measurements, and part of it has to do with us being able to rely on the expertise of the other trades.

I have a couple of young professional friends who live there, and the streets they're on are fine.

Problem with that might be that your GC won't watch the prices on labor which is ridiculously high right now: these mandatory 3 estimates on big jobs might be from couple overpriced big companies and one lower from a friendly company to your GC.You first need to build relationship in the area to know what the prices are generally: labor, materials, location of the property, desired finishes.The last note: good properties go with much higher prices than min bid, because of very competitive market.If you buy a property for $100K, it will be totally different rehab cost, quality of finishes etc than a property for $500.

@Ali Boone, Oh cool, I got to visit Edwards AFB and a couple companies out there a few years ago with my design class.

There is one meetup in Greenville that I have found, but have not attended yet.

We have a few tenants who have been in their units for more than a decade ... a couple around two decades.  

It requires keeping up on the local area's news, attending council meetings, keeping up on what's happening in the city you want to invest in.  

It's a good way to get in the house, then have you work on getting her out when the "company that pays all her bills" magically forgets for a couple of months, then turns out to never have existed in the first place. 

I'd love to chat with you before you come and meet up next week to talk and show you a couple of areas.