Securing funding for 4th property

[Jordon Milford]

Looking for opinions (leads?) from other landlords / lenders.

I seem to be at a land lock trying to secure a 4th property as a single, one income person with 9 year same employer, excellent credit history.

Currently own a duplex(owned 9 years) and a patio home, my current primary residence. I’m looking to purchase another rental property, or purchase a new primary & make my patio home a rental.

However in 2019/2020 I had put a decent amount of funds into the duplex to justify a higher rent increase, and to improve the property overall. In doing so, it seems I have caused the lender to not recognize the duplex income as a factor for a new loan, as it shows a loss on 2019 and 2020 returns. They will also not count the future rent for the current primary even though I have a landlord history, and the mortgage remaining is only 1/5 of the property value.

I have found a property that I’m very interested in that has been offered to me well below comps, but am having trouble securing traditional funding in my situation.

Has anyone experienced an issue like this and could give insight on how I can navigate?