I'd do a couple things now that you've narrowed your focus a bit. 1 - Add keyword alerts to your profile for Lansing Michigan.

Do you get more specific on the property type or have a high level then narrow into the specifics?

Looking to close on my first property within the next 6 months, I have narrowed it down to either a cheap Condo or a duplex. 

I've narrowed down searches through using the terms "multi-family" and "duplex".

My advice would be to get somewhat narrow with what you're looking for.

Looking at the Scheme, it looks as though if a land bank-owned vacant lot is next to my property (both narrow), then I can apply to have it joined as a side lot (see city website).It sounds like a great scheme, but often these things are not great in practice. 

I think if you narrow your geography there's no reason you can't go down parallel paths with a realtor and multiple turnkey companies.  

Also, the location should be very important to your decision.For establishing market rents, I pull up as many craigslist listings that are similar that I can find... try to narrow it down by condition, location, size, etc... then take an average of the cheapest 3 or 4....  

I would recommend you start by defining your criteria and them narrowing down your markets.

I applied for several loans (HELOC and Home Equity) for a deal I'm trying to do, got approved for both types, narrowed it down, decided to go with the HELOC (interest-only minimum payments for the first 10 years) for the reuse-ability and what I thought was the fact that you only make interest payments on the amount used, similar to the way a credit card works.Wellllllll I emailed to loan company and told them to withdraw my application because I don't want that (Home Equity) loan anymore, and the representative called me to find out why.