They're more focused on the property values than your personal finances.Explore crowdfunding platforms as an alternative to traditional bank financing.

Are there any hard money lenders or alternative solutions that could help navigate this dilemma?

Cape Coral is especially popular among investors for its waterfront properties and growing infrastructure.

Cozy is super popular.

Look for neighborhoods where house hacking is popular and where you can find properties that fit your budget and investment goals.Networking: Connect with other investors in your area.

I agree, that is an alternative that will yield similar results, but I see no supporting evidence that it is better and/or cheaper.  

Alternatively, rent regulated tenants can also file a rent reduction complaint with DHCR.

It's definitely gotten really popular over the past few years and some people have built very successful businesses off of it, but if you aren't looking to do that full time then I would recommend buying a property instead as your margins will be far better and you have more options to get out of it if the market or your rentals go south.

This makes Augusta a pretty popular place to invest for out of state and even out of country investors.

There are other companies out there that are not syndications but REITS that can be an alternative as well.