Just like @Wayne Brooks, I wouldn't do a deal on a contract for deed UNLESS your out of pocket was very minimal and you were looking at it as more of an option premium than a down payment.

I'm looking for little push and help me minimize my mistakes.

I want someone who can find the most deductions for me and minimize my tax liability as I build my portfolio. 

Why not just buy one MF unit and minimize the amount of transactions you are doing? 

A large amount of listing days with minimal views is an indicator the property may be priced too high.

You can outsource it out to an agency and there is minimal acquistion overhead because the leads are hot, so you don't have to weed through that many tire kickers. 

Please get a good landlord insurance policy to minimize your liability. 

You can easily make 3X that return with minimal additional risk.

That would leave you with a 1031 in which your responsibility was to purchase $700K of real estate using the rest of the proceeds.If you weren't depreciating before you moved out entirely then your depreciation recapture would be minimal. 

My plan is to live in the upper unit and do cleaning and updating, while the lower unit needs very minimal work.