This is not intended to be a discussion about the options for investment, rather how to conduct real estate settlements in non fiat currency.It is (or should be) evident by now that the status of the USD as the world's reserve currency (or at least our exorbitant privilege) will continue to be marginalized in the coming years (and decades) and that investors are factoring in elevated risks of currency inflation and debasement into and onto their portfolios. 

You will then have a few options with that rent money....you can put it into principal or you can start saving it to purchase yet another property.

We are located in the Pittsburgh area, so we would prefer to set up our first short term rental arbitrage nearby, but we are open to exploring good opportunities elsewhere.  

There are third-party admin people that can help you set up and administer your solo 401k for a relatively inexpensive fee it's about $300 a year I currently use one company to do the same for my self-directed Roth IRA.I'm looking to go with the 401 option because I can do a 100% contribution up to $20,500 now.that's just a little over my net in one month on my rentals.

It's a favorable rate, and given the equity you have in your property, you have a good foundation for securing additional funding without compromising this rate.Considering your property is now an investment, and you're looking into financing options for updates, a VA loan could still be a viable path for you, even in your current situation.

If you are interested in a market like KC there are some good options for you here.

I inherited a house and am currently exploring options to use it to get money to consolidate some of our debt and potentially have money for a multifamily.

1. probably the easiest and least complex options - also should not be really any more cost than opening a single member entity tbh...ensure that dissolution clauses are properly drafted for you both being on title2. for one rental property, this is overkill (although there are many people that will say you need to do this...the maintenance and cost of a trust for one rental property is likely not profitable) 3. personal name with good insurance policy if you're worried about liabilityHappy to go over ideas.

They currently pay $1350/mo for the rental.Are there any creative options for making this work or something we're missing? 

Regardless, you sort of need to take two steps at once: A) talk with an attorney to understand your options and nuances of those options and B) start having conversations with people you might think would invest with you to understand if there is any real interest, what they are looking for and if you can realistically offer that to them with what you are doing.Once you have that, then you need to understand underwriting with investor capital, proper fees and profit splits, taxes, reporting, etc.