I also have no W2 and possibly one of the highest debt to income ratios in the country.

It's unfortunate because that is one of the biggest misconceptions held by the public.

I don't know, it sounds kind of weird but my friend is kind of freaking out about potential liability since the lien was literally placed on the house essentially hours before closing.This is being made all too complicated.  

It's going to depend on the lender, how it's titled and what kind of refinance you are doing.If you're doing a conventional cash out refinance, a lot of lenders are going to require a 3 to 6 month seasoning period prior to refinancing and it will have to be rented first.

This is one of those, as is the neighboring properties (all of which operate as duplexes, though officially are noted as SF).

Been one of my investors for going on  10 years now. 

I have some ideas about how to do this so we both get the most benefit, but there's one part of this that I want to get some input on. 

My focus is simple: helping out-of-state investors like you unlock the full potential of the Birmingham market.

Cozy was "good enough" for awhile but the lack of a mobile app and multiple tenants having issues setting up payments, etc caused me to look elsewhere.  

Recently, a lot of the market factors that kept people away, are the same that are drawing attention.