There is no mortgage on the home if that makes a difference. 

Is 0.75 multiply against what is charged for rent for the month or is multiply to the cash flow I get after I subtract all expenses such as insurance, taxes, and paying the existing home mortgage?

Is anyone aware of any firms or anything that will provide a 2nd mortgage up to let's say 80% LTV and 85% of total cost?  

Mortgage would likely be ~$1,150.Is there a step or path you would suggest that could align our investment goals with our living situation?

i want to end up in multi family homes in the long run, but i have no money down, no money for vacancy,repairs,rehab, etc.. my idea was to start with a single family home(easier) with good equity, live in it. but fix it up a little & house hack to pay my mortgage. then a year or two down the road pull out the equity or even sell and purchase a multi family home that way ill have more money to back me up. how does that sound as a first investment? 

The preliminary information I have about the potential seller is that they're seeking to reinvest in a different locale, so looking to dump all properties in location A to reinvest in location B.Some questions I have:Big bank vs small[er] bank vs private lender - who, if any, would be most inclined to view this as a basket for a single mortgage?

As far as insurance you want the general fire/etc insurance as would be mandatory per the mortgage..  

I actually have a friend who moved out of his first house (that still currently has a mortgage backed by a VA Loan), and was able to use the VA Loan for a 2nd time to built out another house.

For example, in 2016, I sold one of my rental townhouses (with mortgage and lot of appreciation) in the bay area and ended with 650k in cash from the sale. 

This assigns a minimum return to the DP equilivant to the prevailing mortgage interest rate.