Renting to family and qualifying for future mortgage/investment

[Manuel Ortiz]

Hello everyone. I am looking to purchase my first rental property (a single family home) and would appreciate any guidance/feedback around this issue. For context, I am located in the Bay Area, Ca. Also, I don’t have a primary home, so this is my first ever mortgage. 

Essentially, I am purchasing with the intent to rent to my mother-in-law and her kids who has section 8 housing and who’s housing voucher could cover enough for fair market on a 3 bedroom home. I don’t intend to rent below market because I hear that can also trigger personal use tax implications. I don’t plan to live in the home, so it would be strictly for rental purposes. Anyways, a private lender I spoke to mentioned that, if I rent to family, that rental income would not be able to be used for future mortgage qualifications, whether that be for future single family or new investment property. Essentially, they would count the mortgage debt against me but not use the rental income I am getting from that single family home family rental to qualify me. 

I am not sure if this is true, but it sounds like a huge barrier if it is. I am wondering if anyone has any experience dealing with this or can point me to any info that could address this issue? Really appreciate it! Thanks.