Where to go next... out of DTI and out of good deals

[Jordan Williamson]

I started the house hacking thing starting back in 2013 and bought a duplex for $67,500. It rents for $1400 a month and has nearly doubled in value. In 2014 I bought another duplex for $130k. It will rent for $1900, but I live in the larger half so it only rents for $900. The plan  was to buy one a year for the foreseeable future until it bought me out of my full time job. The problem is that the multi-family property prices have gone up FAR too fast. Although rents have also significantly increased, they haven't gone up at the same pace. 

I have considered moving to single family rentals, but they have also gone up far too fast and rents are yet to catch up. 

This is all moot however because, although my mortgage broker thought I could be approved for an additional $150,000, after contacting their reps etc they could not make it work as my DTI is far too high.

All of this to say... Where do I go next? It seems like a transactional market these days. Should I switch strategies to fix and flip/ wholesaling?  I prefer buy and hold for long term retirement/cashflow but the market doesn't seem to support it....

Where do I go next??? #askBP