I had to protect my bank whhile he went broke so I ended up paying for a few subs twice..

Larger lenders might bundle their loans and sell them en masse to a Wall Street hedge fund, bank, or insurance company.Those who like to label themselves as “note investors,” as you did, typically buy defaulted or non-performing notes.

But honestly, have you just tried going to your local bank to see what they offer you?

If you walked into a bank, your pre-approval would likely never qualify for a house hack duplex.Did they count 75% of the expected rent towards your DTI? 

I then went to the bank and mortgaged it for the same $30k at 8.5% over 20 years.

I own a mortgage company now that does both residential and commercial finance, but I spent years as a commercial banker with both big banks (First Union/Wachovia) and 2 community banks.

If you already have existing property and transfer property to an LLC, then it could trigger the due on sale clause the bank.

One suggestion to consider as I mainly do BRRRRs as well- find a local bank or credit union in the area you plan to buy that offers construction loans.

One of the above houses was a foreclosure, now bank owned and on the MLS. 

The problem is, and here's where I really screwed up, is that now I'm told by lenders that because we have a commercial tenant banks won't refinance the property.