Losing deals without proof of funds

[Corey Westermann]

Hi BPers,

I'm still relatively new and could use some advice regarding getting properties under contract. To this point I've purchased 3 rentals using conventional financing and large down payments. My goal is to continue to buy and hold SFRs in Portland, Oregon.

I'm currently looking to purchase my next property but my debt to income is out of whack and conventional loans are pretty much unavailable to me (even the portfolio lenders I've found).

The market here in the Portland metro is pretty crazy right now and I'm having trouble getting sellers to take my offers seriously without proof of funds. I'm consistently put in back-up position or ignored in favor of pre-qualified buyers. I have a large down payment ready and I'm confident that I could find hard or private money once I had the deal.

I guess my question is this - What strategies or methods should I learn about that will allow me to get properties under contract without being pre-qualified for a loan? Is it really my only option to have investors or hard money lined up prior to writing an offer? How do whole-salers do it - do they really have a POF letter that they include with their offers?

Thanks in advance for the help.