For properties that size I'm not sure cap rates will give the best story, but for the sake of answering the question, cap rates are a level of desirability in that sub market. 

@Jagjit Singh Welcome to BPFirst you might mention what size multi family you are talking about.

Is this is a size thing (company just needs to get bigger/have more equity), or perhaps a business structure issue, or should I be looking at different financing sources other than local banks?

Counted all units and sizes in each town and looked up population. 

@Armando Carrera research and develop your own typical tenant qualifications so you don’t accidentally violate fair housing, landlord/tenant or local laws on occupancy limits based on bedroom quantity/size required for kids, number of unrelated persons in one house, etc.

Much of that depends on your loan size. 

What would you say is more accurate for a standard size kitchen with labor included in a 800-1200 sq ft home?

It's just one size doesn't fit all. 

And we found a great pre-finished lumber supplier for the siding and the tongue and groove that is saving us 10 to 15k a cabin depending on the size (and producing far better quality results in the finishes).It doesn't sound like much when you're looking at 300k to 500k builds.  

Using a VA loan for a second property, where I’d move in and rent out my current home.When I made an offer on a fixer-upper (I didn’t win that bid), the loan officer mentioned it might be difficult to convince the underwriter why I’d need another VA loan for a second property in the same area, especially since the new home is almost identical to my current one (same size, age, school district, etc.).