I feel your pain, dude. I guess at first, yu have to find a way to increase your income using OPM. Good luck!

Yes, talk to your accountant regarding sale of primary / secondary residence.

The sale on duplex, you may have to bite, unless you convert it into another secondary residence (after the sale of the house at your former state).

There's great savings potential in planning these sales, talk to your accountant, as there are details here that you may need to know. Can't answer your question with limited detail.

Goodluck,

Congratulations on researching before you make the jump! You can invest in real estate using other people's money whether or not you are a real estate agent. The only advantage the license gives you is access to a multiple listing service. You can also choose not to get your license and have real estate agents bring deals to you – FREE! They only get paid when you close on a deal. Seller financing is one of our specialties. When a seller financing deal happens, you can raise capital or borrow money to invest, and then when you sell or rent the property, you make enough to pay back what you owe and keep a profit. All with NO money out of your pocket. (that's a simplified outline but that's how seller financing works). Keep doing the research, but focus on what's for sale and what's selling in the area you're interested in. Knock on the doors, ask about the properties. The more you know about the area homes, the better prepared you will be to evaluate whether or not a deal is a good one or not.