As for the areas to target, my goal in getting our feet wet as real estate investors--and since we plan to be living in Sac--is to find a property we can live in while renting out one or more units to help cover our housing expenses, which we can then hold and continue to rent out when we move.

An operator can change the operating income of a property by increasing gross revenue or reducing expenses.

Going to try out PayRange, the Shine Pay is slightly more expensive and the one quote about the 20 units appears to be from shinepay as it is the only qoute they ever made... not sure which is better but both look like good options

Once they drop to below our required lead flow to rent out the units when we want we'll drop it by $25. 

Instead, ask your accountant to write a letter of explanation for your finances that adds back depreciation and capital improvements rather than expenses.

I have all the income and expenses.

They’re too expensive and frankly create delusion. 

The lender had their own unique requirements. 

It does take 1-2 weeks to accomplish, so does require some effort and monitoring on your part, but sounds like you are a diligent self-money manager, so should be easy for you to accomplish. 

Since you’re building from the ground up, a hard money loan can be a great option because traditional banks tend to be slow and have stricter requirements for new construction.