For funding, explore options like FHA loans, personal savings, or creative financing, and focus on New Jersey markets that align with your goals, such as Newark for rentals or commuter towns for house hacking.

Congratulations on the duplex -My investor clients have acquired several multi-family investment properties locally in the market I operate in Northwest Indiana - Figure out your personal investment objective for the next 4 years and align yourself with the next property that make sense in this current market environment-

I am here to create a business strategy that protects personal and business investments and mitigates risk,  procure a coach or mentor, and set up tax strategies to create long-term wealth for myself and my family. 

i have seen many do very well getting on a team.Myself personally I would concentrate on listings 1000%  Buyers only if well knownand wont waste your time. 

I had hoped to set this up with PNC since I bank with them but an in-person visit to the branch is required for set up and this is not possible since I now live in Washington state.

Ideally you would put only one persons name on the mortgage unless you absolutely had to have both to qualify.  

But it sounds like you should also balance your decision on what fits you and your families preference and style since you will be using it personally. 2.

$6k tax.Ins,hoa, not to mention utilities . took out a HELOC off of our personal home ( res.worth $900k, and a 260sq ft studio, mtr. $1450 mo.) for$ 220,000 for the deposit.

This often happens when a person's last name could be a first name like Leonard Bruce, should be indexed under Bruce, but sometimes shows up under Leonard. 

But I strongly urge anyone to always get Aldermanic support before proceeding because it makes life--and the entire project / process--a whole lot easier. :)IN SUM: Based on what you've shared, it sounds like you won't need to rezone if you just want to build a duplex.