Employment history requirements

[Steven Berro]

Hey BP'ers,

I'll try to be as succinct as possible. Question: How long do I need to be employed in order for banks and/or credit unions to be able to use my income towards the purchase of a buy and hold SFR/MFR investment property?

Back story:  Sold a business. Moved out of state. Receiving payments from sale of  the business. Payments will continue for another 14 months.  Lenders want 3 years of income from the sale to qualify as income. So, non of the business proceeds qualify as income.

I'm currently a stay at home, home schooling dad. (And I thought owning a business was stressful. Can I fire my children?)  My wife works full time.  Our credit scores are around 730.  We have enough cash for 20-25% down payment.

I am willing to work in the same industry I was in for the past 18 years if that's what the lenders want to see.

The sticking point in obtaining a loan is our debt to income ratio.  I've met with banks, local credit unions, and brokers. Same response from all.  The loan will be to purchase my first income property.  I don't want to get stuck with a private or hard money loan without an exit strategy.  So, I need to able able to qualify for a traditional loan.

I know there are other financing strategies, such as seller financing that i could potentially use.  I'm looking for some answers to my question but also a view from the outside looking in.  Am I missing other options? 

Thanks for the help!

Steve