It was off market, so having him tell me about the deal was perfect.That being said, if you go the property manager route (which I highly recommend), if they are good, they are worth their weight in gold.Congratulations on your first duplex!  

If you want anyone to give it any weight- you might try to back up your claims with any facts or statistics or at least some random experience to justify your blank statement that all bankruptcy filers are "irresponsible people".  

As you know people charge a boat load of money for information in this industry.

Shoot for 600 or above, but also look at recent late payments etc.You could also use a weighted points system instead of straight up disqualifying a tenant because they don't meet 1 requirement, but all the others seem fine.  

The other problem is that in this neck of the woods everyone is so busy, plus their is a lack of tradesmen out here, anyone worth their weight in gold is asking for gold.

Someone mentioned a 4000 sq ft footprint.Get the architect to do a real quick basic design.The architect can then do an estimate on live and dead load.Then do a boring on site with the geotech to make sure the soil condition can support the building.If you are lucky, no special site prep is required.If soil condition isn’t ideal, then prepare to spend money on driving piles or other types of site prep to support the building.Once you have these basic information, then you know you have a technically feasible 12 apartment building.A couple days of feasibility study won’t cut it.The geotech information will be given to civil engineer and structural engineer.They will design the proper foundation.Structural engineer will design the load bearing structures.I personally like steel beam construction and concrete but they are more expensive.Civil and structural will work to design to seismic codes.Mechanical engineer will do the plumbing and HVAC.Buildings need to breathe or they’ll rot from within.Electrical engineer will design the power distribution with appropriate protection circuits.Mechanical engineer will need to spend time to research and work on sewer connection to city or county sewer lines.If design requires digging up a public road for a tie in, it’s on your dime.There is a basic connection charge to tie in your sewer line.Check with city of Bellevue on which IBC they are using.

The sample course load that I looked at online would have me in class from 7am to 4pm Mon-Fri.  

From what I've read the downsides to commercial loads are: larger down payments, higher interest rates and shorter terms.  

Know these answers before you meet with them because if you can answer them and you find someone who understands your needs and works at it they are worth their weight in gold. 

It's not something that everyone understands, let alone has an interest in or the risk tolerance required -- and that's important to keep in mind when you're weighting their input, because everything they say is shaped by their perspective and (lack of) knowledge about the topic.Example: You're used to living in a nice home in the suburbs and are considering moving to the city and living in an apartment.