1) Will you lose material participation in the cost segregation if your property is in a neighboring state?

Honestly private money is not hard to find if you have the credit and down payment amount.

We took out a heloc from the SFH to get the money down for the duplex which we lived in one of the units.

.- Your out-of-state investor agent should have plenty of recommendations for local contractors, lenders (conventional and hard money), property managers, etc. and be able to identify appropriate assumptions for your analysis (e.g., appreciation, vacancy, rent estimates, etc.).If you have questions, feel free to PM me--happy to help.

Refinanced them both to get my money out but they only rent for $795 and $775 but property taxes are a little cheaper in AL. 

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where I do think it helps is if your raising money from folks and or with banks..MBA gives some credibility for sure..

None of this stuff by itself is a ton of money, but add it all up and it cuts into profits.

Made a lump sum and now I make money in interest payments and I don’t have to have touch the house as far as repairs or landlording at all.  

.- Contacting to the seller directly is un-ethical, this is not because you are by-passing the agent but because the seller is not a real estate professional, and he might disclouse things that affects him on the deal that will make the negotiation tougher for the seller, in which case it will be a lose-lose situation for him.- You should look at talking with a real estate attorney if you want to know more.