You may also check out Sherpa which produces credit bureau level data.

I look at what your capitol, equity, or cash can produce for you on a regular basis in a market like KC.

In other words, each property you buy should make it easier to qualify for the next one.I suspect you are talking to a lender that typically handles loans for owner-occupants and does not know how to handle income-producing properties.  

@Frank Rizzo, I'm guessing that you've already regularly borrowed against your primary to get sufficient finance for those extra properties, and for your value-adding (but non-income producing) projects, am I right?  

I understand that house hacking in your first duplex generally won't produce nearly as much cash flow as house hacking in a fourplex.

If the investment produces $420 in profit, are you splitting it and drawing it out or are you putting it right into a shared fund to build a reserve or save for the next investment?

Fast forward two weeks to moving in, our house abruptly did not have hot water, and was only able to produce lukewarm water at best.

- The opportunity that I see is that by living in one unit, the other units cover the mortgage plus produce immediate cash flow, which can really help bridge the gap initially for me until I start this job.- Luckily I have an interested father who is offering to lend me the downpayment necessary for my first investment. 

I have seen the log yards almost empty during the crash.. they are producing big time. 

I would save every single dime they produced until you have a nice reserve.