I know all these affect loan options but I have been hearing a lot of no's because of the new Fannie Mae regulations limiting investment loans to lenders and the fact that it is a duplex.

All tenants are month-month on leases, so in most states it wouldn't be that hard to turn the rental units.With the passing of AB 1482 in CA implementing statewide rent control starting Jan 1 2020, it seems there are some major limitations with what you can do with rent and tenants.

-Eddie 2021 VA Loan Limits for California | VALoans.com

I do understand that if I am buying and managing the property myself, all my direct expenses to manage the business are tax deductible, but since I'm thinking of investing on a turnkey basis and planning to hire a property manager for day to day operations, following would be tax deductible as a passive investor.Mortgage InterestProperty TaxProperty Management FeeDepreciationInsurancePossibility of 1031 exchange (Future)When investing via a real estate syndication as a limited partner:20% of the pass through income from the LLC is tax-deductibleThe Syndication LLC obviously would be taking the tax benefits of depreciation, property tax, mortgage interest deductions etc., but as a passive investor, is it more beneficial to invest directly in real estate than investing via a syndication? 

So guess what, that day and age when people have limited information, limited resources, limited networks, the internet has ended that age.

All of the other options come with huge potential pitfalls and limited control.

I continually find deals but utilized my limit on conventional loans and joint ventured (JV) with family members & friends motivated to invest.

Limited & Standard. 

Hello there Andre - hope the previous neighborhood info was helpful.In regards to this post I will caveat that I have not closed a lease/option deal aka "Rent-to-Own" however I will share what I do know to give you initial guidance until others chime in.There are ways to find lease options - including but not limited to dedicated sites such as homepartners.com, some new construction homebuilders to on/off market properties that can be seller financed. 

Best advice is to make sure you get as high a credit limit as you would ever need.