Down to earth, responsive, very affordable, seems excited to find ways to save you money.

My guess would be they are saving up first and last on a new place by not paying you July and August rent.

If you are looking to save on down payment, doing an owner-occupied property will work best for you.  

For example (and just picking arbitrary numbers here), let's say:Current living expense: $1,800/monthHouse to hack mortgage: $2,000/monthRental income from house hack: $1,600/monthExpenses (including $400 leftover on mortgage): $800/monthIn this example, I'd be losing $800 out-of-pocket per month, but I'd be able to save an additional $1,000 from my day job over my current situation that I could use toward a second property.

Put it in a reit or save more

And if you're still working a while you can supplement with savings from real world work. 

Was considering saving aggressively for about 1-2 years for a good down payment on a SFH or duplex in my area for rental income, but thought I'd also like to buy a new personal home for me and the fam (wife and 4 young kids). 

Then you could use that first year to make those repairs and save money by doing some of the work by yourselves.

I have recently closed on a rental property and have used all my savings on my two rental properties that I purchased in the last two months.

Normal tenants will not want to save $100 month to move in a year...or whatever you’d offer.