DTI & The "2 Year Landlord Experience" Rule?

[Mitch Rice]

I'm a new investor and am just now building up my portfolio. I converted my first primary residence into a rental back in October of 2014 so I have only been renting it out for 6 months.

I'm purchasing another in a few weeks and when looking for a 3rd, I've started to run up against DTI issues. I've heard from the lender and from others on BP that I need to rent for two years until a lender will count rental income.

Can someone help me understand this rule better? I couldn't find much on BP or the internet. Specifically:

• Once I have two years of landlord experience, will a lender count income from all my properties or does it take two years for each property to count?
• I'm considering selling the original property because it doesn't cashflow well, but if I do so will that reset the 2 year "timer" or will it keep going as long as I have another rental?

Thanks everyone. I'm learning a lot from BP so far and appreciate everyone's time.