Hi All, I am a 29-year-old working a W2 job that pays well.

Renting by the rooms and having other people pay the mortgage.

The proper way to approach this appraisal problem is (summarized below):* find reasonably similar comps - find relatively recent duplex sales in the Subject's market area and adjust for differences, based on market response (i.e. how much more/less buyers would typically pay for certain characteristics like size of units and lot, location, quality/condition, etc).* In the absence of similar comps - go back in time to find any similar comps, no matter how long ago and adjust for market trend differences (appreciation, etc), as well as other adjustments as typical (size, bed/bath, condition/quality, location, etc).* Go to nearby market areas/neighborhoods and find reasonably similar duplex sales and adjust for market area/neighborhood differences as required - along with the other adjustments.* Find reasonable 3 or 4 unit (not more than 4, and they can use sfr's, but those are typically not as good for comparison.

You have solid assets, but you feel like you should be managing larger apartments that require way more attention, more management, more upkeep, and more annoyance.

•I plan to put 20% down on this new property, which means I’ll be left with about $80,000 in cash after the purchase.Given this scenario, I’m trying to decide whether to pay cash for the second property or continue with the 20% down strategy .

(Biggerpockets has an agent finder also) You can also do a forum search for the area and see who has the most activity, they can help or set you up with someone who helps.I would hold off on paying for a program until you are further along because most of them are going to center on scaling from small landlord to large, repositioning, flips, etc..

You could also offer to pay for a home appraisal and agree to pay the property's fair market value.All the best!

The original owner stopped paying the taxes and HOA.  

Also any cost that I may need to consider to pay upfront other than the land it self (i.e. survey, permits, etc)? 

Ability to pay, do they pay, have they saved?