Don’t forget heloc, DSCR, 2nd on primary, borrow from retirement accounts, credit card cash advance, property reserves, home improvement store credit, etc etc.

If you are in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market, you used to be able to get duplexes for $50k to $100k and make it cash flow quickly.

My concern is doing the cash out refi on my other rental and causing a new and much higher payment on it that I can't just pay off like a loan.

My first reaction to your post is if you're purchasing assets that are throwing off positive cash but your DTI is going up then it may be time to re-evaluate the type of assets or the expenses associated with those assets.  2.

One thing you don't want to do is to buy based on proforma and have a negative cash flow property, especially on your first deal.

If your priority is cash flow, then you need to look at markets that support that.

Is your income considered variable in nature depending on job sites and that you do not work a set amount of hours per week?

Those 7 years were cash positive, but we just weren't making enough cash flow to make it worth the trouble. 

With the upswing in the country's short-term and mid-term rental markets, a unique opportunity is presenting itself to house hackers during a time when it's harder to cash flow than it was a few years ago.

If not I wouldn't bother selling as there is an incredible amount of money lost in buying and selling properties, so you have to make sure you have a plan to maximize the equity and actually have enough.