My wife and I are looking to househack a property which we'd later like to move out of and keep as a rental property.

This will help keep the project from dragging on.  

Now, it seems like the goal would be to keep that property in the long run, so you would want to Refi that in a few years when rates come down and you again can qualify for a more traditional mortgage, but there could be a path to getting around $100k and taking the next few years to focus on banking cash flow and possibly expanding.I know, it's a bit out of the box, but if we were just blue sky talking about a solution, it's possible. 

We have not decided whether or not to keep using the flooring yet though.

I really would like to keep as much personal cash as I can at the moment because I am expecting some very big life changes this summer which will take a good chunk of my income.

Keep in mind low downpayment can have PMI which eats dearly into cash flow.

So we'll just duplex unit 1 down into the basement and keep it as the legal 2 unit that it is.

Leave some materials for their agents to keep on hand.

you can get a mallet that helps get the air bubbles out and keep things level.  

There will be ups and downs, but just make sure you keep moving forward.