There are only a handful of multifamilies (on the market) in the city I live in (Springfield, MO), and virtually none in surrounding towns such as Nixa, Ozark, and Rogersville.So am I barking up the wrong tree in trying to positive cash flow while living in one unit?

The big expense required to make the house rent-ready is having a large tree removed. 

I am looking into buying a duplex in a strong rental market in a great location but there is a new multifamily development that is scheduled to start construction later this year on the property right behind the duplex (line of trees behind to separate but traffic would go through street in front) .

I need recommendations for a dependable tree service company to service my rental property.

They don't deal with tenants toilets and trash... if your want to buy rentals.. then you need a commercial broker not a retail resi broker your barking up the wrong tree...

I also knew that they could pretty easily afford the monthly rent based on the info on their rental application income and debt information.Over the course of 10 months, I got one call from them about a tree that fell in the back yard.

Limit / remove trees and shrubs whenever possible.

I have mixed reactions.... yes there are cut backs on usage and thanks to our government, the $1.4 trillion dollars worth of water that was dumped into the ocean to save a 3 inch "possibly endangered" guppy didn't help us.

The landscaping needed work too, I removed scraggly and overgrown bushes/trees, put in two block walls, a patio privacy fence, lots of work on the grass.

And really the filters need to be changed closer to monthly  in hopes of getting the tenants to change as much as needed.As far as the yard - I would say at least once a year the bushes and trees should be trimmed, the gutters cleaned out and over all the yard looked at - your tenant is probably not going to do this, despite it being something they should be doing according to their lease.