Has the assessed value increased or has it stayed the same and just taxes have gone up?

Now take off 10% for property management, which if you are self-managing needs to be paid to your take-home bottom line, or you are "working for free"...not a good goal for one aspiring to be an investor. 

Jonathan Taylor Your problem relies on being an independent contractor, or self employed. 99% of the lenders are going to have the same answer.

I haven’t spent enough time there to assess it.

(I'm self-employed in the trades, not that I'll be doing all the work.)I joined this community thinking it would be a good place to network and bought a pro membership for the calculators and access to the marketplace.

You could just cachout refi (6 months & 25% equity stays in) or delay finance (anytime after purchase and 30% equity stays in).If you're planning on staying for a while and like the area I would recommend to get a 2-4 plea and rent out the other half/units and self manage it.  

I just learned that realtors are self-employed and file their taxes on a 1099 form.

My objective is cash flow and rapid mortgage payoff.

Thanks@Stone Jin I plan to self manage for the first year to learn as much as possible and figure out how to best automate but as I add additional units, I may outsource portions. 

Just be sure to know your market and competitors so you can overcome objections to the higher rate.