I thought the amount we could pull was purely based on value-PITI but now realize it's tied to debt/income.  

So - Cash-out Refinance our house -> Purchase a new home (hopefully a house hack MFH) to move into -> then rent out our current homeBut I am tied up on the cash-out refinance piece. 

Can anyone give us any suggestions to prevent us from losing the house and all of the money we've tied up in it?

We’re trying to scale quickly but are now exploring options for cash investors as much of our cash is tied up in our first few deals.

So basically it is much stronger than hardwood? 

@David Arshakyan It depends on your goals and if you can get cash when yours is tied up.

Let's not get tied up on semantics of the word "plan" @Joe Villeneuve I think the guy knows that his small summary isn't his entire plan.

Looks like you may have a little money tied up after you refi but not too much.

If you get it on your primary the current terms are: 15 year draw period, 80% LTV at variable rate tied to prime (currently at 5.5%), or 85% LTV at variable rate tied to prime + .5% (6% total), or 90% LTV at variable rate tied to prime + 1% (6.5% total).

On value add the IRR overall over time tends to be stronger.