I feel like I’m in a rut- what do I do now?

[Megan Hodges]

So this is my current “next step” to finally reach out on BP to try and find a way around my current situation. I will try my BEST to make this short and sweet because I really need advice/ideas/motivation on where to go from here because I know there is SOMETHING I can be doing to get on track.

I’m a stay at home mom who always had an interest in rental property investing but chalked it up to something only millionaires could do. After a convo I had with my dad that recommended me to BP and opened my eyes to the world of opportunity in investing even as a stay at home mom, I DIVED in. I watched BP podcasts, read Brandon Turners guide to real estate investing and quickly realized my niche etc. After a year of reading, studying and strategizing I started to make some moves. I decided I want to start but using a 203k fha to purchase a foreclosed duplex, renovate, rent 1 unit and live (ideally) rent free in the other unit. Leave after a year, refinance and use the equity on investment #1 as a down payment for #2. I initially thought my biggest hold up was going to be #1- credit score and #2 down payment. So I’m Jan ‘19 I started making moves. I got a credit card for rebuilding credit, started working part time to save for downpayment, went seeking for a mortgage broker experienced in 203k loans and went over requirements and tried to create a timeline for myself with said mortgage broker.

Now here’s the problem. And this is what I was afraid of all along- eventually hitting a deterrent that makes me lose all steam and give up. I am so DETERMINED not to let this happen and that’s why after 4 months of not doing ANYTHING I’m reaching out on BP for some expert insight and advice. This is where I need help:

When I spoke to my mortgage broker in April, I wanted to double check that I was doing everything right in preparation to qualify for the loan. The deterrent that I hit was- with me being a stay at home mom, the only income I can apply with is my fiancé's . My mortgage broker said that he has to have at least 2 years in the same line of work and the DTI ratio needed to be below 40%. IRONICALLY my fiancé after spending the last 10 years in the waiting industry just went full time artist! I want to say our last to income forms where still from waiting BUT the income on the tax forms shows a 50% decrease in income from last year to this year. So with that being said, my questions are:

•Is there a way around this/anything I can do or is this a general requirement for any loan?

•If I decided to just use a typical FHA loan would that change the requirements as far as DTI ratio and history of work?

•What can I do now if I can’t purchase a rental property? Can I co-purchase with another investor or something of the sort just to keep in the real estate world just so I don’t lose sight of my goals etc?

•I’ve also thought about just studying for y real estate license, would anyone suggest it or suggest a certain program/course for that and what are the benefits if I take this route?

I just KNOW there are things I could be doing and I don't want this to be like all of the other things in my life where I just lose steam and give up when I hit too many deterrents. I am SO passionate about REI and have never been so sure of my future in a certain field until I started studying REI. Any and all advice would be SO APPRECIATED!! (Side note: I actually already have a pretty solid downpayment saved up now so that makes this deterrent even more frustrating)