Question on obtaining financing for a second home

[Dylan Baxter]

Hey Everybody!

My wife and I are looking to turn our current primary home into our first rental property. Our lender told us that we have to have a tenant's first-month rent and security deposit before getting approved for another loan in the price range we want. We are in the Atlanta, GA market, so not super expensive, but defiantly not cheap. With the market being as hot as it is, we are not confident that we can have a tenant sign a lease and find, close on, and move to a new house in that shorter window.

We have considered buying a fixer-upper, but the current market is oversaturated with true cash buyers (not investors using hardmoney), which has added some barriers to entry.

Our next course of action is to start speaking with credit unions to see if we can get a potential 90 day unsecured loan or portfolio loan. Does anyone else have some creative strategies that I am not aware of?