Maybe your loan officer isn't experienced enough to have known to offer you this loan, which is odd, as this is one of the 1st loans any loan officer in the business needs to know? 

Some additional color on these points would be helpful to answer your question:-Property type (ie. office, retail, multi-family, hotel, etc.)

I will say though, it takes a loan officer that is used to working with borrowers with rental properties, to get it correct.

A lot of interesting info here...coming from a loan officer for a hard money lender I'll try to trim this down as best as possible:No a pre-approval letter does not mean very much.

A knowledgeable loan officer should be able to clearly communicate these questions you have.

After walking through & discussing aspects of the build, between ourselves, we came down to exit through the office/garage.

Is the duplex part of a commercial building with offices or stores below?

I just saw a new we do ADU office open on a popular blvd... with huge signage.

Either way keep in mind how touchy some municipality workers can be emotionally lol always approach every meeting/ phone call with a ton of kindness, & politeness.. it makes a world of a difference here.

You must be a broker with a brick and mortar office.