Monty, take a small amount of time to work on your credit daily.

I guess I could do some work-arounds -- maybe reserve one unit in the first purchase for use as an AirBnb, and reserve my own time in it when needed - instead of claiming it as a primary.Are either of you (or anyone) familiar with a finance product/loan that will allow me to purchase under $150,000 (w/ strong credit) and do much of my own work and live-in a portion as a primary residence?  

I have one lender that will go up to 85% but need 720 credit or better and 1.25 DSCR no rural areas

CA taxes residents on worldwide income but may provide a credit for taxes paid to other states.

.- Personal Articles: Coverage for belongings that have a special or collectors valuesuch as Jewelry, Furs, Fine Arts, Collectibles, etc...Your age should not be a factor on the pricing but, depending on the company these other factors may get you credits:- Insurance Score (company pulls certain info out of your credit report).

So I say selling is most likely your best course but regardless, to grow your portfolio stop doing 15yr terms. 

I purchased a single family to rent out the rooms and it sent my finical plan completely off course because I was not as ready as I previously thought.

At this point, I would recommend having a line of credit to cover these things so you don't have money sitting in the bank doing nothing when it could be put to work.I have 33 units, no debt except for mortgages, and excellent income.

What are the best courses of action here?

Quote from @Zach Edelman: If you do a DSCR loan and vest it in an entity - you and your partner can both PG the note and it will report to neither of your credit reports, thus having no impact on your DTI!