NOOB! Military family moving to Washington State, looking to buy

[Marc Estepa]

Aloha!  My family and I are moving from Hawaii to Washington state in the next few weeks.  I am brand new to Bigger Pockets.  My wife and I own 3 properties in North Carolina and looking to leverage our equity to purchase our primary residence / investment property.  We want to house hack the property and looking for a property with a separate living space.  

We are new to Bigger Pockets Real Estate and grew up with the very traditional mindset of living below your means and saving 20% for a down payment on a home.  The thought process was, if you didn’t have the money for the down - you just didn’t buy.  That’s all changed after listening to bigger pockets.  I am just trying to find the guts and get comfortable with reading the numbers to find a good deal, and creatively borrow to put a respectable down payment on our home.  Getting COMFORTABLE with the process and understanding how to do it creatively is the key.  This is uncharted territory for us.  

Little bit of background. I am the primary breadwinner, but am currently unable to apply for a loan, as my two properties are currently in forbearance due to CoVID. I will resume payments in October and it won't be until approximately JAN 2021 that I will be able to apply for a loan as the VA requires 3 months of steady payments to get my accounts back to current.

Upon our move, my wife will leave her primary job in Hawaii and will be self employed in Washington as a Rodan and Fields Skincare rep.  She will not have the income to qualify for a traditional home loan at the price we are looking for.  BUT, she does own a property that has 100K in equity.  

Credit scores are NOT an issue as we are in the 800s with no debt other than 1 x Car Payment and the mortgages on our 3 properties. As of now, all three properties are being rented. Her property is making money, whereas mine are breaking even. We have about a year of living expenses in our savings account, but prefer not to touch this. I have money invested in my ROTH, TSP and a money market account - but prefer not to touch this either.

My question is this - Is it possible to purchase a primary residence in my wife's name using the equity in her home as a down payment, while I pay for the mortgage using my Basic Allowance for Housing? Due to my forbearance issues, I cannot apply for a loan at this time. Can my wife be the primary applicant for a HELOC without the required income and then turn around to use that as a down payment, while applying for a home loan on the property? I have no freaking idea what I'm doing, or even know whether I asked those questions properly. HELP!