That guideline is lender specific, so I would suggest shopping it around. 

here is the situation. i left a really good paying job to take care of my 81 year old parents because my dad is chronically ill and my mom is almost there. i wont go into too much detail, but my sis doesnt help them. ill leave it at that. we have a person who comes twice a week to help with cleaning and other household tasks. i carry the bulk of the weight cooking their meals, running errands, grocery shopping, picking up meds, and taking them to dr appointments. its a full time job. i get a small salary of $1000 a month from a care giver sub contractor for the VA. ive been paying my bills with what savings ive had, but only have a few months of funds left. i own a duplex. i have over 200k in equity. i live in texas and texas has weird laws about refi and heloc/heloans when the property is 4 units or less and owner occupied. i would rather not sell, but if thats my only option i will have to at some point.does anyone have any advice or possibly be able to point me to lenders who might be able to work with my situation?

new investors are shopping on Zillow

That will set the price points you can shop at.

As mentioned above your new rate should actually be 6-7 range not 8s so shop around.

College students may appreciate a quiet study area or a place to visit with guests while their roommate studies in the apartment.Maybe there's a need for a coffee shop or other small business that needs very little room but also provides a service your tenants would be interested in?

It will require fabrication but you can negotiate that as well.There are a couple of shops that sell standard round over edge granite slabs, 25"x96" prefab, tier 1 for $98 each.

I talk a lot about REI Nation and how they've been my fantastic partner over the past year - they are a one-stop-shop and have helped me through some challenging situations.

After some networking with other local investors I've come up with a few smaller shops that should have good insight into the best avenues, so will pursue that as well.

I just recently listened to you BP episode.I have also actively been looking in the Flagstaff area with the Short Term Shop agent over there after talking to Avery, @Luke Carl.