Shooting you a DM to see how much you could get back with the refi. 6 months or less seasoning wouldn't be a problem either. 

When I sent this to the property owner he thought the commission rate was too much.

You should definitely not invest here or move here.Trust me, no need to come confirm.

Have been looking into Commercial Retail shops, laundry mats, etc. but I am a bit unsure how much I could "purchase" with my current cashflow/down payment.

Worst case you might need to ask for an exception, but I think as long as you are up front about it you should be in good shape. 

The home is as is, so it needs some repair.  

I wanted to ask for the advice of the experienced investors who have purchased multi families units (especially duplex's) on a few topics.1) Do I still need to vet the current tenants at the duplex?

These types of properties can provide strong rental returns without a massive upfront investment or needing tons of experience.If she’s curious to learn more or wants to explore some easy first steps, feel free to connect!

I'm just starting out investing in RE but I want to make sure I'm doing all I need to do properly and legally.

If you have enough market data to support your income projections you should be good to go.Lenders don't like Airbnb's much though so maybe you can pitch it to them as a rental?