Advice for a travel nurse starting out

[Paige Seeley]

Hey everyone!

I'm starting my journey in real estate investing and interested in purchasing my first small 2–4 unit multi-family home. I'm working as a travel nurse and have run into some issues with getting approved for a mortgage high enough to make this type of purchase in my area. I have found that working with lenders and getting appropriate approval with travel nurse income has been difficult since a part of the income is tax exempt so it doesn't show on w2s. I'm hoping there's someone in this community that might have some insight and experience with this situation. I'm open to all suggestions and looking forward to hearing from you guys!

[Sean Monahan]

Hi Paige.  Speak with a mortgage broker first and discuss options with them.  I had the same issues when I became a travel nurse but we were able to find some products that work.  Try not to have any breaks between assignments as this helps show consistency.  Other small piece to keep in mind, search out assignments that are well paying with higher hourly and small stipends (this clearly depends on locations chosen but have your recruiter send breakdowns of options and this is a variable to keep in mind).  Increasing hourly will help you get approved for more.  Consider a cosigner.  Do you have a parent, spouse, partner that will cosign as you build your work history.  Come with a larger down payment.  Some mortgage products may be available to you with a larger down payment and just consider that extra money invested as a savings as you can refi out later once you have the work history duration.  Please reach out and we can discuss more as I love investing and travel nursing is a huge part of my life and investment strategy.