My wife and I are working professionals and this is my early retirement gambit, so we are pretty serious.

Some helpful info on knowing how DSCR rates and guidelines broadly work: DSCR loans won't use your income to underwrite the loan. 

With the Duplex now, my understanding is I file as though the rental half is a separate property and cut all expenses in half as a write off to my rental income (property tax, insurance, maintenance, improvements, etc...nothing was done specifically to either unit it was full home external work like garage and railing repairs, painting) as well as depreciating the half of the duplex that is a rental after calculating basis.It all seems very straightforward to me but I know I'd be naive not to have a second set of eyes with a professional given my lack of experience.

Other option is find a partner who will contribute the cash and you can use dual incomes to qualify for the mortgage.  

Examples:44109 (median home price went from roughly 50k to 125k in 8 years)https://www.zillow.com/home-values/77009/cleveland-oh-44109/ 44102 (median home price went from roughly 30k to 120k in 8 years)https://www.zillow.com/home-values/77002/cleveland-oh-44102/ 44106 (median home price went from roughly 100k to 200k in 8 years)https://www.zillow.com/home-values/77006/cleveland-oh-44106/ It has the highest rents on average in all of Ohio for major cities and the median income is not even in the top 3.

@Manaswi MishraYou have a great income.

The is a work at home scam where they say you can work and make a income wholesaling. 

Reason being, while it still will be unlikely to cash flow (using a VA loan in a highly priced market like Austin), you will likely be able to live in it, and generate rental income from the tenant.The beauty of this is that not only will you be able to build up equity in the home (eventually being able to cashflow), but you will be able to live in the house for a much lower cost than you would if you were to rent an apartment or buy a single-family home.

DSCR also does not look at your income i.e. taxes, W-2, paystubs, etc but rather will look at the potential cashflow of the property. 

No "significant" need for more "equity investing," time for debt or income investing.