The area I prefer to invest in is near a big university, very limited inventory and in high demand for renting (so many investors present). 

But they had a recent bankrupcy , only 1 credit card with a $900. limit and 13 months of credit .

After finding out that we could not claim any of the losses because of income limitations, our next step became very clear.  

Yes I did makes plenty of sense and plan on continuing with quadplex until I've reached my loan limit.

I also have heard of a another specific form of syndication called a real estate limited partnership. does anyone have experience using either of these vehicles and if so would you say they are beneficial to investors?

The sky's the limit!   

I use Quicken, which is limited, but suffices because I also use property managers for my REI.

You can go the creative financing route that others have suggested but that will really limit your opportunities. 

One of my questions that I have is I'm aware that if I was just to use my VA Loan a 4 unit is the limit, would my wife being in the military also allow us to get something larger than 4 units?

and what kind of credit limits can someone get in that time?