You need the ability to weed through it all.

HUD contacted me, told me that I need to pay the tenants unexpected moving expenses about $1500 or I could lose my ability to rent my property.

If you have someone that would be willing to co-sign a loan with you (parent, grandparent, etc) that would definitely increase your lend-ability.

I'm trying to determine how much cash we'll have available to invest into the duplex.

Real estate has the ability to earn income through rental payments that can be adjusted as prices go up — a boon for investors or homeowners who choose to rent. 

@Jayden Hamilton the stress test is important because it finds areas where you might be weak when it comes to your investment abilities.

@Ashish Acharya , the ability to create even a small amount of future self employment income to have a Solo 401k is important when rolling over old 401ks and existing IRAs into a Solo 401k.The advantages of a Solo401k compared to an IRA  far outweigh any self employment tax.

Other things that might matter are your risk tolerance and ability to bounce back if everything goes south.You should definitely consider doing deals now and all the time. 

This did remove our ability to renegotiate for minor repairs but gave us the option to walk away without sacrificing the earnest money deposit if we found significant issies with the home.

Ashley Kehr will go over a wide variety of topics, such as goal setting, partnerships, how to find and fund deals, how to build a team, how to determine what market to invest in, how to analyze deals, and how to make offers & negotiate.