I had a rental property that was running well, and my personality simply led me to sell the property.

Sounds like the opposite type of person you want in your asset.  

Then last option would be a "unsecured" personal loan where the bank offers up to $50K for example to pay off and consolidate debts.The 2nd and the personal loan will pay off debts and lower DTI and you might have enough left over for down payment or just use VA again.

Obviously 5 weeks of play time can be deemed personal use.

Additionally, I am pretty set on house hacking and this area due to a new job that requires in person work, where a sub 30 min commute would be ideal.

These loans almost always require a personal guarantee.

Hi Amanda, DSCR loans are becoming a popular financing option for investors since there are no restrictions on the number of loans you can have, and you can qualify based on the rents covering the full mortgage payment, no personal DTI needed. 

I commend you, @Anne Jenkins, for meeting the rehabber and personally walking every property you lend on.

Personally I'd do whatever my atty told me to...It's probably a couple hundred bucks to make sure I'm meeting the req's of both the security deposit laws and the BK laws when I send them info. 

I personally self manage from across the country through Turbotenant.