I can understand a lender not wanting to get into a third position as the LTV increases. 

As of  Jan 1st 2019 I have raised the rent for both of the 1 bedrooms from $625/month to $685 One of the tenants did balk but they paid it because that is still under value by about $50-60 The garage rent has been raised to $140 from $100 The renter of the garage made no issue of the rent increase.

It really is best to be on both to increase your exposure.

The obvious thought is to not claim any as it is my first property and there will be only around $4k in revenue this year anyway but my thought is that I can potentially claim and increase my taxable income which will raise my Debt/Equity ratio in order to purchase another SFH or small MFH next year.

I am not going to increase by more than $20 per year. 

That being said if you're projecting out you should also consider whatever market rent is since increasing rents to that figure may offset the tax increase. 

During the election, Florida also voted to require a 2/3 majority vote on any tax or fee increase proposed.

In an effort to increase awareness of this important issue, defendants also agreed to place over 60 postings on Craigslist informing other Craigslist users that the Attorney General monitors Craigslist for discriminatory advertising and that it is against Massachusetts law to state a discriminatory preference against families with children or against recipients of housing assistance subsidies.http://www.mass.gov/ago/news-and-updates/press-releases/2009/ag-reaches-statewide-settlement-with-20.html

If you go with a smaller bank that does their own underwriting maybe they would take that into consideration against the DTI.

A private lender can charge higher interest rates than the bank and thus increase the income derived Understanding that there is no guarantee in the real estate industry, and there are risks, a private lender can receive a return on investment of as much as 10%.