Securing lending as a business owner? Help needed!

[Audrey Spina]

HI BP Members!

I currently own a retail business in Brooklyn NY and am ready to expand my investments into real estate. OOS multi-family is the goal. I'd like to take the first step of getting an idea of what I could qualify for except it has just occurred to me that having a very good and very creative accountant has also left my income (on paper) looking a bit sad, and not quite an accurate representation. 

I am an S-Corp and pay myself a small salary of $40K but make the lions share of my profits through my dividends. I have had lots of deductions and thus has cut deeply into my financial "portrait." I do however have excellent credit (780) and 6 figures in the bank. 

To get to the point- Are lenders taking your taxes as the most important part of your financial picture? This year I will be bumping up my salary to take this into account, but wondering if I should hold off on trying to get pre-qualified because my income currently shows so low. Otherwise do I just see what I can get qualified for based on my measly earnings but excellent credit and liquidity? Thanks in advance! 

Also I should note, in case this makes a difference, I have not chosen a particular market for investment yet,  I am finding that to be my biggest challenge!