Could I pull equity to pay down debt to improve my dti ratio?

When performing a quick preliminary screening on those websites (i.e. to exclude obvious bad deals), do you usually use the 50% rule (or similar % rule) to estimate expenses?

Some use the 70% rule. 

Very generalized rule of thumb, expenses usually land around 50% of gross rent.

Thank you all for making me aware of the rules in California.

Sounds like you'd be doing better than the 1% rule and could potentially have a small down payment.

When the market tanked my rents went up & I improved the properties to raise & protect them even more.

@Dillon Seal yes it is certainly legal but the lender has to comply with much more strict rules if you are going to live there.

You might want to consider certain areas of East Bakersfield and Downtown, as there is improvement happening in these neighborhoods.

I try to pay attention to the rules, but a couple of times I've stepped over the line of "self promotion" without really thinking about it.One of the best parts of BP is that they don't allow spamming.