The units are all currently occupied right now, so we won't have to worry about the buyer's market right now haha.With the cash flow I will receive, it will be enough to take care of property taxes, insurance, and enough to save up for any emergiences with the unit that I will need to take care of, so no need to worry, I got you :)!

I recently purchased a 2 unit property as owner occupied with one unit already rented out. 3 months after closing, I was laid off due to a restructure at my company, so I decided to rent out the other unit my girlfriend and I planned to live in.

They only want to do the bare minimum to keep places occupied, collect and distribute payments, and send out their preferred repair people.

You either need to find a way to make and save more money or look into owner occupied investment strategies like a live in flip or house hack.

If I were you keeping the property as 4 units and renting out bonus unit under the radar may be your best option especially if you plan to refi or do HELOC while occupying. 

Once I retire, I'll supplement my income (and keep myself occupied) with rehabs and either flip them or use a BRRR strategy. 

His "owner occupied" loan application is ok if he intended to live there when he applied.

It is a Duplex which is currently occupied (both units).

For example, you could create a weighted structure where a percentage of profits is based on cash contributions, and another portion compensates for rehab or management efforts.Rent Payments and Tax-Free Profits:If you structure it as an owner-occupied property, the rent you pay could be shared proportionally, but tax-free gains on resale may only apply to your share, as you’d be the owner-occupant.

By doing this we qualified for a larger mortgage because we could use the rent from the other tenant to qualify and there are better lending programs when it’s “owner occupied”.