Qualifying For a Multi-Family Purchase - Conventional

[Kyle Berns]

Hi Guys!

Anyone have any advice or experiences they'd like to share in regard to qualifying for a multi-family rental purchase?  This would be my first multi-family purchase so any advice would be of help!

Here's my situation: I started with my first rental purchase in 2013, and I'm now up to 3 units. What I'd like to do now is purchase a larger multi-family (maybe a 4 unit) and live in one of the units. I know some lenders will use the potential future rental income from the additional units to help you qualify. I'm concerned that with a multi-family potentially being a much larger purchase than I've done in the past, my DTI ratio will not qualify. Unless, the lender is "giving me the benefit of the doubt" by adding in potential rental income from the additional units.

So my question is, has anyone had experience with this type of transaction...using rental income to qualify, before you actually start receiving it?  Are there any of the larger lenders that are more flexible? (I'm near Ann Arbor, MI)  Any helpful advice before I start calling lenders would be GREATLY appreciated.  Thank you very much for your time!

Kyle Berns