So the answer is somewhere in between 1 day and 2 years depending on how you can demonstrate your intent.I doubt if there would be much of a benefit If you're actually living there but pretending to rent to a family member. 

I am very interested in real estate and been learning a lot.

There’s no benefit to 2 or 3 year leases as a landlord.

Start by reading the Ultimate Real Estate Investing Guide: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides/ultimate-real-estate-investing-guide/introduction2.

A)The owner is a real estate agent, and has been for over a decade.

On a building that probably tops out at 680k/ maybe if uts gorgeous and you find someone with more money then sense 700 but i couldnt fathom someone paying nearly 200k per unit in Hartford The real question you want to ask yourself is, is one year of my life.

I have a W2, but also have a real estate license, though I work very little in actually selling real estate.

The objective is to make a profit, not merely own real estate and this is often forgotten. 

The rents are collected weekly instead of monthly, so there are more rental periods each year, but I assume expenses may be higher as well.Does anyone have experience with SRO real estate?

Rental 1 - Cash flow Breakeven - rate 3.875% - 20-25% equity (not looking to refi)Rental 2 - Looses about a few hundred a month - rate 9% looking to refinance soon to 6.9% but debating on waiting until rates drop further - 5-8% equityPrimary - currently at 7.25% waiting to refi to 5.5-6% - about 5-10% EquityMy current net worth breakdown is approximately...Real estate 39%Cash reserves 7.5%Brokerage 30%Retirement 17.5%Other 6%