I think Cape Coral offers the best bang for your buck and there are plenty of duplexes here.

Or pay the owner a hundred bucks to move it for you.

Land to build new houses is getting rarer in areas where it's more populated and because of that most builders around here seem to get the most bang for their buck. either a giant mcmansion goes up or tightly spaced low income housing seems to be all they're building around here. 

I prefer to invest within a 30 min drive and self manage (to save a buck) so I’m not interested in investing out of state.

That works out to about 7 bucks/SF.

That alone already tells a lot about your drive and maturity. 2.

Otherwise, spend a few hundred bucks to fly there and see the town. 

Man all I can remember thinking is "why would I pay 1000 bucks a month and get nothing back when I could buy a house and pay down some equity" Looking back 15 years ago its painful to realize how much I missed out on in the years since 2008. 

Just to chase a quick buck on one deal, he threw away the potential to do a bunch of deals with me AND do you think I will ever recommend him to any of my fellow investors that attend my meetup?

I have several businesses, you don't treat your good customers like that.Risking pissing off and losing great tenant and stable rent for 70 bucks?