Getting a loan without a job

[Jacob Prelle]

My wife and I are learning a lot about investment properties and are planning on purchasing our first this year. We are currently renting, have about 60K in the bank, and we both want to retire in about 10 years. She owns her own business and makes around 35K. I'm currently unemployed (I work around the country on contracted jobs) but when I am employed, I bring in around 100K a year. We have no debts and excellent FICO scores.

We live in Orange County, California and can't buy in-state.

I'm worried that we're going to have trouble qualifying for a loan. We're not hoping to house-hack, or BRRR. What we feel comfortable with is purchasing a couple of properties each year pricing around 200K-300K. That would (hopefully) give us a positive cash-flow and when paid off, we can enjoy the benefits of not having a mortgage.

Does anyone think we will have an issue qualifying for a loan if I have gaps in my work history? From 2012 to 2016 I've had no gaps, but in my new position, I'll likely have 3-6 months of gaps on average between projects.

Thank you for the advice.