Struggling to find money for rentals

[Luke Diem]

How do you legally search for private lenders? I know everyone says talk to friends/family and other people around you. My issue is all my friends are still in college and have college debt to worry about and are in no position to lend money even if they had it. I've also had no luck with relatives. I am currently in the financing process for a duplex I have under contract and the red tape with banks is just ridiculous and I am worried they won't lend me the money. If they do, I am worried about hitting the max amount of mortgages in the future that they will allow me to have. I have a good credit score, full time job, all the qualifications a bank would require and some money for down payment. Should I just get use to this or would searching for a private lender be a good idea? I do all my homework on the properties I look at and with the help of BiggerPockets calculators I am able to find properties the hit or are close to the 2% rule.