Frustrated with banks. Tips on raising capital to purchase rental

[Account Closed]

Hey all, I have been trying to get a loan for my second rental property and it has been very frustrating to say the least. I cannot go through a bank to get a mortgage. I am currently unemployed, but I have multiple streams of income which the banks will not count. I have a small business and one rental property, combined with VA disability. I make PLENTY of money to pay for another mortgage, but the bank wants to see at least TWO years of self employment and also landlord experience. I find that ridiculous. I am working on my bachelor's degree, so I will not have full time employment for quite some time.

I don't want to do hard money either because it seems nearly impossible to find a legit lender. Every HML I come across on here seems like a scam waiting to happen. Plus hard money is only for short term fix and flips generally. I am looking to buy a rental property. Can anybody here offer advice on how I can raise capital in a timely manner to purchase my second rental?

[Chris Mason]

Hi @Account Closed

• VA disability benefits is qualifying income. Typically it's tax free, which means we can even count it at 125% of value.
• Rental income is qualifying income, even before it appears on two years of tax returns, assuming you aren't trying to use a VA loan (you say it's a rental prop, and VA loans are for owner occupants only).
• Self employment income, for good credit scenarios, can often be counted based on a single year of tax returns. In any case, guess what you can do a month and a few weeks from now? File your 2016 taxes early, giving you another year, instead of waiting until the last second like most people do.
• Find a better local lender. The previous 3 bullet points aren't exactly mystical secret knowledge that only I have, they are pretty basic stuff. This is why you don't try to get a mortgage by walking into a bank or calling a 1-800 number -- those folks typically have no licensing or education requirements (that have to "register," but don't have to be "licensed" or pass a test).
• By not counting VA disability income, I actually wonder if someone might be violating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and/or the Americans With Disabilities Act.