Trying to cut my losses as the borrower got all her unsecured debts discharged through Chapter 7.

How does the already deep in debt CA afford to tack on $50 BILLION in debt service?

Yes  I think the best move here is to asses your total monthly debt and see if a cash out refi will help decrease the total interest and monthly debt obligation.

The technicals (migration rates, job growth, tax situation, debt cost, etc) to work as well.

In general, multifamily properties are a popular choice for investors because they offer the potential for cash flow, scalability, and the ability to amortize debt across multiple units.

My husband was able to consolidate and re-finance the debt after we executed the deal but this was only possible because we bought a VERY modest property of 70k as a learning tool to really see what buying a home in CR would be like. 

Quote from @Collin Hays: From a macro standpoint, cash flow is difficult when servicing debt, at least in the early years. 

I'm at the beginning of my investment career, fresh out of college and pretty heavy in debt at 7% interest.

Quote from @Kevin Sobilo:Monthly Rent + Monthly Debt Payments <= Gross MONTHLY Rent * 45% Obviously I made a typo.

I’ve often seen this happen where initial approval is given, but debt-to-income issues arise once they discover you’re purchasing another property.