My first step was to extract all of the properties in one city then to only target properties from 2018.

Lot's of sellers pushing junk pro-forma's and saying value add rents could go up 100 more per door but 90% of the value is already extracted and that last 100 is the hardest to make happen.

.- VA can cash out to 100%  so if you have lower appraisal values this can help you exit the HML loan and extract more equity out of the house hack property, while if you had used conventional or FHA refinance you may have been severely limited value wise (appraisal risk).- VA allows for much higher DTI or debt to income - VA can be much more lenient on credit scores and VA underwriters are encouraged to help work with borrowers to help them qualify (this encouragement is not present on conventional or FHA)Hopefully that helped, let me know if you had other questions. 

Most of our RE have had all of our investment extracted. 

The reason I am perusing websites like biggerpockets is we would like to extract some money to clean up and fix some things - and actually to have the cash to get out there as we live in California.

I live in the west metro area so if you ever want to meet up for some coffee and let me extract a couple notes about the local area and your current rentals, let me know.

If you have good ones, don't risk losing them by trying to extract a couple more bucks per month.

We know there is more oil/gas to extract with the newer extraction methods.I am keen on investing in West Texas to cash flow rentals.

Eventually court will pierce through their non-legal standing but they use it as leverage to extract money or other tactics etc.Before you sue you need to get counsel of a real estate litigation attorney even if for a consultation.

However, I would very surprised if you find anything better than the 20-25% down.Of course, if the property appreciates in the next year or two, or you force some appreciation with improvements, then you could refinance and try to extract some equity, but the max LTV on a cash-out refinance is usually 5-10% lower than if you were purchasing, so bear that in mind.You can also try to get the seller to take back a 2nd mortgage for another 10%, but might have to sweeten your offer to get them to bite, and they would likely want a shorter term on it, so it could be a significant cash-flow drain.Personally, I don't think you should leverage higher than 80%.