All available loopholes, which allowed deregulation of units were, unfortunately, closed by our elected officials, except the substantial rehab strategy, which requires 80% vacancy throughout the building and 75% replacement of all building-wide systems, you are essentially forced to renovate the complete building and still at the mercy of DHCR.. which has the final saying

walk the streets, order coffee in the coffee shops, talk to the agents, go to the REIA meetings, call the contractors, meet with the property managers.Internet doesn't cut it.

Not even close.

There are some bond programs both county and state level that you can get the downpayment and some closing costs paid or go new construction and do the same via the builder.

The seller's main concern is that you are a qualified buyer who can close the deal.- The lender: when applying for a primary residence mortgage loan, you are typically required to intend to live in the property as your primary residence for at least 12 months.

I would say 80%-90% of buyers are owner occupied and per their loan they have to move into a unit within 60 days of closing. 

My real estate agent told me not to purchase 2 bed, 2 bath single family homes as they don’t rent well.

Do you mean day 2 after closing?

And if you have to refinance down the road, you'll probably have to transfer the title back into your personal name for that (most conventional lenders won't allow you to close directly in an LLC). 

If you plan to be there LESS than 7 years, then I might consider NOT BUYING because if prices stay the same it will take nearly that long to pay down a mortgage enough to cover commissions and closing costs to sell and break even.