Link below, but Rentwerx is one of our Featured Property Managers.https://www.biggerpockets.com/business/finder/property-manag...

Also, two of my favorite books on the subject are the "Hands Off Investor" by Brian Burke, and "The Definitive Guide to Underwriting" by Robert Beardsley. 

Cardinal Insurance Group is a local family owned agency that can most definitely help with protecting your investment property.

They want to send me to the commercial loan department where the rates are awful, closing costs are high, and the requirements much more robust.What if I just get a second-home construction to permanent loan, wait 12-16 months for it to be built, spend another 90-120 days furnishing it, and then refinance into a traditional 30 year fixed as an investment property?

You are definitely in the right forum.

People said prices were out of control and way too high in 2014-2016 (you can find many threads on BP about it). 

We have an opportunity to pick up a lot and are wondering if it's cheaper to just buy a duplex/4plex that is already built and fix it up instead of building one from scratch with the current  construction costs being so high. 

You can forget any large bank like Wells boA or large regional s I highly doubt with your scenario they will provide any credit to you.then you have the Brokers who are responding.. they set you up with a direct HML that does vertical Rates 10 to 15%  and points 3 to 6.. of which the brokers take 2 to 4 points for setting these up for you. 

Who can i speak to in the construction/builder space that could help me get an understanding of costs /planning for a new build.Thank you  Getting a conventional primary loan to build a 4plex can be a bit more complicated than purchasing an already built property, but it is definitely possible.

Sight unseen and going to BP for GC contacts for a F&F, that's a high level of courage!