We also happen to be selling our primary home in August as we have a third child on the way and need more space (among other reasons).

And with anticipated child support added in, just counting my W-2 income alone raises my DTI too high to qualify with all my debts total.So does anyone know of any lenders who would count that spare bedroom income in my DTI for refinancing?

Or maybe after a few years you decide one or two are just your "problem child" and you want to sell them to reduce your headaches by trimming the fat. 

Right now I have a steady job and my wife and I are expecting our first child in November.

I would end up paying more in child care, and I would never see my kids.

I'm an “empty nesters” and with a child moving out to college in the fall.  

I agree with you in certain markets that don't appreciate the returns are only what you can make on cash flow over a long period of time and you never have to sell or recapture deprecation or have major cap ex either of those will kill your returns back to next to zero.but you take high appreciating markets and these charts are not accurate at all. its the dead an dying or non appreciating markets that weigh down the US averages.. any property bought in say SF or SF peninsulas back in 08 have basically gone up 4X  and or more.. other areas say Detroit or other cities that saw mass movement out of area .. properties peaked in mid 90s and have been going down ever since .. with the exception of the craze to buy SFRs as rentals by out of country or state investors this has propped up values in these areas.. 

They must be current on child support if any and current on student loans if any.

These days, state laws hold landlord responsible for renting to sex offenders and criminals, and I'm not sure how my insurance company would handle it if one of your subtenants, a known child molester, molested a neighbor's kid.

Right after we made the offer my wife and I found out we were pregnant with our second child.