If you’re working with VA-savvy lenders who are comfortable with your plan and don’t impose stricter rules, you might be able to rinse and repeat as you described.

Get out of your comfort zone.

This would allow her to feel more comfortable with the increase, and to still meet the 3x rent requirement. 

If the only MFH options you're finding are in areas you're not comfortable with, it might be worth focusing on a duplex in a better neighborhood.Saving up for a larger property later is a valid approach too, but keep in mind that real estate tends to appreciate over time, and waiting might make it harder to enter the market later.

Achieving a 15% yearly ROI in Tulum’s real estate market is exceptionally rare.When clients approach me wanting to invest in Tulum solely for high returns, I advise them to reconsider—unless they’re comfortable with a more realistic 5% return.

Quote from @Paul Azad: Beautiful property Blake, and great growing area, i drove through a few years ago, amazing scenerey and perrenial vacation spot, would you feel comfortable sharing the structure of the syndication for the investors, fees, projected IRR, or time weighted avg returns etc from a potential passive investor perspective?

Although this is a long term investment and not in the main stream, it has added a certain level of comfort knowing the above potential investment risks are to a degree reduced.

Get out of your comfort zone.

You don’t have a large enough portfolio of houses for a lender to feel comfortable without a personal guarantee. 

In my shoes, it would be hard to credit a client for a decision that could have saved you $10k+ in damages, especially when it wasn't something that went to our firm (like management fees or an in-house maintenance contractor).