Hey Harinoor, if you purchased the duplex with a mortgage, contact your lender to understand their policy on transferring the property to an LLC.

hello im an investor based out of central Illinois and im looking to get financing from private money lenders looking to make a passive income does anyone have any suggestions oh who or where to start??

Also considering you are paying lender fees, it could be costing you more. 

My short term goals are to develop a deeper understanding of how to effectively analyze markets as well as networking with realtors, lenders and contractors.

You're probably looking at hard money for a project like this, or private money.

BUT, it does mean that sophisticated lenders believe that THE CHANCE of default in said situation puts the loan beyond the “risk/reward” parameters that they’re comfortable with.  

Hello, Currently I am in the beginning stages of doing my first fix-and-flip with a Hard Money Loan and I am running into an issue with the Hard Money Lender and Realtors in the area.

I agree with @Jay Hinrichs that private lending is an awesome way to make money in a retirement account. 

When they say no to that, I have to go pretty low on the offer because I have to get a hard money or private money loan and its going to be about 10% to 12%. 

I think, whether you're ready from a cash perspective or not at this point it would still be helpful to build a relationship with some trusted lenders who have demonstrated experience with helping househackers/investors for them to coach you a bit on what steps to take now while you are saving up!