WTF is a co-op? 

However, those rents may be market, but if the tenant pays for electricity or water, you need to back that out of their rent (utility allowance).Tenants are not supposed to have a co-pay >29% of qualifying income and the voucher addresses the difference.For a small investor, I wouldn't target them since I stated the major rules, but there is paperwork if your property has a use restriction requiring income qual. 

I’m self employed, and had a co-signer on it - ideally, I want to refinance at some point in the next two years, get the co-signer off, hopefully get some cash out of it and do this again.

We used a conventional loan with a co-signer.

@Pepper Bradford-  thanks - 1) anyone thats  bringing in  funds for the  down payment on a  inv purchase  will need to be a  co borrower and go on the loan / title   2)  this isnt  anyhting unique or new   for  traditional lenders    3)  many investors  will  balk  at  having to  provide your  lender  all their  financials / tax  returns  etc ....maybe you can  find some that  are OK with this 

As a beginner, you can learn a lot from your uncle with a few rentals in another state or a co-worker that's on their second house hack.

If there was a co-signer on the lease who had a decent credit score, then that would be the person I target.

My question: Can I meet that requirement with a co-signer that DOES meet that specific requirement as well as the other ones that go along with it?

Seminars and conferences are great ways to find a guarantor or perhaps what you need is a co-sponsor. 

So I have two brothers that submitted an application for a property: one of them qualifies based on the requirement, the other does not, he makes about $1000 net a month when the minimum is somewhere around $2400 net monthly income, but combined they bring in enough to meet the minimum.My question is, can the other brother who is qualified be a "co-signer" even if he is going to be living in the same place?