That’s why it’s important for investors to have a well thought out plan B and C.  

Have you narrowed your criteria to property type and price range?  

Here is the situation:1) House A is my primary residence, with $200K mortgage. 2) House B a rental with no mortgage (fully owned) and a market value at about $350K3) Plan: Get a 15-year mortgage on rental House B and take out $200K cash out to pay off the primary residence mortgage.Question: Would interest on the new 15 year mortgage be deductible against income generated by House B?   

I'm interested in 4-plexs under 300k with value-add potential in the Kansas City and KC metro areas, but want to narrow the areas I'm looking to get better focus and understand the values of that area.

When your scope is the whole country it'll be hard to narrow it down as two very disparate locations may have the same metrics. 

So far, I've narrowed it down to a couple cities that I have done some research on but ultimately, I would like to build a team first and have boots on the ground to follow.

This will help you narrow your search when it comes to looking for properties.

But if you look at 4975(c)(1)(A), (B), and (C), none of those provisions prohibit "benefits between the plan and a DP". 

That is very narrow.

B and high C is the way to go.