Hi @Connor McGinnis, congrats on getting your plan together...Obviously your Dad has many options to help you out...and that may be good.If you ARE looking to take title in your own name, an FHA loan (owner occupant) at 3.5% downpayment would be great - ($17,500 on a 500K duplex) and you'd be able to cover other closing costs as well.

I realize someone else will come along and purchase these units because they covered up what I saw in my inspection.

You will find that those states without sales taxes have relatively high property taxes (regressive) which are impossible to avoid as one either pays them directly or as a component of rent. 

Other than that it was relatively simple to use I had no issues with the functionality of it.

So I invested in Vegas where home prices are more reasonable (relative to Seattle) and where I grew up (familiarity with the area).

Your investment makes relatively small cash flow and depending on how the numbers work out in reality might have negative cash flow.2.

However, for example, let's say you have a friend who is not at all working in RE or anything related to it and they refer you as a realtor, you can not legally give them compensation.

Maybe transferred it to a relative for $7k (kinda odd). 

You can save Realtor fees (maybe) but you need a good RE attorney to make sure you're covered legally...http://besthouseswap.com/https://propertyswap.net/

The IRS may collect a partial amount, but the sale won't cover the full amount owed.