That all makes sense to me but it makes me wonder how can you be "financially free" or even just start building wealth if you are 100's of thousands of dollars in debt at all times.

Mobile homes are treated differently depending on if it has had "elimination of title" or not.

That is the issue I am having now as my wife and I have great paying jobs and just cleared all our debt.

The cleanest route but the least attractive method for most investors is to have the investor provide debt.

Our next big objective is to eliminate our housing expenses by purchasing a triplex or fourplex using my VA benefits.

Get on a budget, build your emergency fund, pay off all debts, save up.

The list comes out at least 30 days before the sale and the owners have opportunities to pay off the debt anytime in those 30 days. 

Do DSCR loans qualify if purchasing through 1031 w/debt-carry-forward requirements?

I like targeting outside of where I would live for SF and small MF (1-4 units) because of the lower entry price, usually higher cash flow since your rental income is higher relative to your debt service, and your appreciation potential is high if you can read the writing on the wall.

Also, you will likely only be able to use the rent to offset the mortgage pmt debt on the rental property to $0 since you dont have any Sched E history yet.