Obtaining financing from a lender 'as a proven landlord'

[BenO Roughan]

Hey All.

Long time listener, first time caller :)

I heard somewhere from all of my books, discussions or maybe I have cooked this one up. I've heard that after you've proven that you have received rental income for 2 years or more (as proven by tax returns and claiming rent) that lenders can start to look at you a little differently with regards to your personal income being less of a factor when it comes to qualifying you as a borrower,. That once you 'are a landlord' that you are financing an investment and they look at the property and its rental return vs your income and how much you can afford to pay a month. Is there any truth to this?

A little backstory, I am on the tail end of my first BRRR. I've bought a SFH, invested ~30k into it with the major tasks done (swap out oil/steam with a Navien and forced hot water/BB and re-done kitchen). My next step is to rent it out and repeat. I am just not fully clear on how to purchase a second house with the intentions of renting this one out and what the lenders will say to me or how I should be approaching lenders. I haven't re-fied yet, truth be told some of my investment was done I think incorrectly as I have taken lots of it on with credit and as such my score has dipped a bit.. Rental income has been from friends living in the SFH with me as I renovate.

Either way, any insight that the community might have would be helpful. I am hoping to finish that last R (repeat) and follow it with many Rs after it. I think I just need to get one under the belt before things start loosening up a bit, or so I hope, ha! Thanks again for any help! This community is just great.

-BenO