You picked the wrong kind of property to start in as a 3/3.1 townhouse is not ideal for room hacking and is more residential in nature which is why you should sell it and take the proceeds and deposit money and look for a two-family where you and your brother can live in one side and you can full rent the other side - maybe even as a mid-term rental to 2x the rent.

I would like to purchase long-term rentals (ideally in the Denver metro where I live) but am not sure what, if any, cash flow I could achieve. 

The long term goal is to rent out to tenants long term and scale into multiple properties.

Appears to be a well oiled machine in terms of the construction and sale process-cookie cutter 1200 sq ft properties.

Factor in costs such as:Property taxesInsuranceMaintenance and repairsProperty management feesVacancy periodsLong-Term Strategy:With plans to acquire multiple properties, develop a clear long-term strategy.

Most work this way Rates: 9% to 13% (Most Deals are 11-12%)Terms: up to 36 Months (Most Deals are 6-12 months)Fees: 2-4 points(%) of loan amount paid at closing (Most Deals are 3 points(%))Minimum Loan Amount: $50,000 (For loans less than $250,000 $2,500 minimum fee)Max Loan: 65%-70% of After Repair Value(ARV)100% Rehab Financing Available (Require 20% of purchase price down payment or cross-collateral)Closing Timeframe: 48 Hours - 3 Weeks (Most Deals are 2 Weeks)NO PRIMARY RESIDENCES, NON-OWNER OCCUPIED ONLY, BUSINESS AND COMMERCIAL USE ONLY.

I don't think the time and effort would be worth the gain. 

From CSLB:This section defines what an owner-builder is and the laws surrounding the practice.An owner-builder is what the term indicates: a person owns the property and acts as their own general contractor on the job, and either does the work themselves or has employees (or subcontractors) working on the project.The work site must be their principal place of residence that they have occupied for 12 months prior to completion of the work.The homeowner cannot construct and then sell more than two structures during any three-year period.Getting a GC license and going Legit is pretty difficult.

In terms of doing a refi the house would be compared to others of the same value and adjustments made for BR or SQ FT. 

So if a tenant breaches their rental agreement the landlord cannot require that the tenant immediately pay all future rent through the end of the term.