Starting with a low budget

[Eric Mckune]

I am just starting out. I have been following various YouTube channels, books, podcasts to learn what I can. I have been in contact with a lender to be pre-qualified. But I ran into a hurdle. With my income I don't qualify for most of the opportunities out there. My plan up till now has been to finance a 2-4 unit deal under market value, occupy one unit and rent out the other unit(s) after finishing cosmetic renovations. BRRRR strategy. I barely qualify for a SFH, especially since I was going to find one that could use some rehab and finance those repairs in my loan.

What advice or suggestions do you guys have for getting my first deal? Finding a cosigner so far doesn't seem to be an option for me. I really want to get started but I don't know how to get past the financing. I have turned some of my focus to learn more about flips to see if that may be a better option for my first couple of deals. Since I am new, I don't know if partnering would be an option either.

[Caleb Jordan]

@Eric Mckune So a copule of things. 

1. Can a lender count any potential rental income? That might help your income situation. you will most likely be able to go this route if you can find a property that is in livable condition and can be rented right away or currently is rented. If a property needs a complete rehab and cannot be lived in it will more difficult to count any potential rental income right away. The trick will be finding a property that also has opportunity to add value by doing some upgrades repairs. Smaller banks will be best route for this option.

2. you could look at HML or private lender. Now they will probably not do owner occupied, and this will more like a flip. Although there are loan for rental properties out there in this realm. They will not look at your income, but will want some reserves and a viable deal. So some sort of cash assets will be needed.

3. Find something you have to offer, find a partner who has a need you can fill. Being new does not rule our partnering, you just need to find something of value you can bring to a partnership. It could, cash, be boots on the ground for an out of state investor. A professional or personal  skill in finance, marketing, fixing things up, etc.