I would love to work with existing agents as a learning experience and don't mind getting my hands dirty! 

If you aren’t motivated to do showings and market your property though, I recommend hiring a pm or agent.

I'm young and don't mind "working" for the extra amount. 

In my ideal world this house would sit until spring, and then they would come to the negotiating table with a more realistic price in mind. 

That having been said, I've made up my mind to do this. 

Some contractors will refuse to work outside the law and some do not mind so much but if you want to work within the law then first thing will be to go down to your local building department and see what the local zoning is for the property in question .

The stock market was still in the toilet and the losses I and everyone else had suffered were still very fresh in my mind.

Keep in mind, this is 2 full sized duplexes on one lot.Owner evicted previous tenants as they were giving her major hassles, plus she lives out of state and didn't have someone nearby she could trust to take care of business.

Some more questions that came up to mind...again, really appreciate any feedback I can get:Would I get taxed extra if I form an LLC vs. self-proprietary?

Don't pay any mind to their negativity.