We plan on purchasing the home with a non-owner occupied mortgage through the bank.

Qualification for these loans is a bit more strict, but if you plan to personally occupy the property for at least some portion of the year, and to retain ownership exclusively, then this might be an option for you. 

But if you worked for the next two years, tried to score near 75k, and then could qualify for a VA owner-occupied ... that may be the best route.Hope this helps.

I would also disagree self storage is recession proof when 100 percent occupied.

That said you should decide Month to month or longer term before bringing people in and the specific term 9 or 13 months when you see when the unit is going to be occupied.  

This is an important tool for anyone buying a tenant-occupied property.

The only requirement is for me to be occupying the property during the refi.

VA loan is a great tool for investing in RE, just know that buying with the VA means you have to occupy the home for at least 12 months. 

The broker says it's not fully occupied because he has it at a low basis and just uses it primarily for storage for his cars/his friends, etc.

My understanding is that most SBA loans are for owner-occupied business loans, I.e. if you had a restaurant they would help you buy the building.