Hey Joe,Congrats on leveling up — going from SFHs to an 8-unit is a big step, and your questions are the right ones to be asking.

I’m trying to pay off my hard money lender with a cash-out refinance on one of the 3 properties, but I’ve been denied by three local credit unions and a bank because my self-employment taxes show low income as i also run a lawn and landscape company as my full time job and it has personal debt from the trucks.

Tenants in California are the only ones who benefit from a lease. 

Quote from @Ashish Acharya: @Stephen Nelson This is a great topic and one a lot of investors get curious about.

It’s one of the biggest skills you can learn.

You might want to give these people a try, and make contact with a local retired mentor who could help you with this.https://www.score.org/Good Luck!

With limited savings, one of the cleaner entry points is an FHA or owner-occupied loan where you can house hack, and later depreciate the rental portion once you move out.

Could you present two scenarios of the above and then compare the two noting which is better for you personally and why?  

@Tim W. a lot of great advice already!

Padsplit (padsplit.com) seems to support an interesting spin on rentals where they help people rent out individual rooms for a few months to a year.