Scaling with high DTI (STR)

[James Overton Winston V]

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I are looking to buy our second property as an STR. We have one STR that we've had for 7 months, in addition to our primary residence that we have had for 12 months. We have no other debt besides these mortgages, but these two eat up 40% of my W2 income. I can't yet count the rental income since we've only had it 7 months. My wife does not work as she just graduated from grad school and does not plan to (other than analyzing deals and monitoring various markets) since we are expecting. Our 1 rental has been very successful for us and we are looking for another in a similar market. We have enough for a 10-15% down payment so that is not the issue. Our bank will not give us a loan for any purchase over 170k because of my DTI. To be competitive in the market we need to be able to offer around 225-260k. Are my only options to find a hard money lender or get a trusted family/friend to cosign (this is definitely last resort and we haven't determined whether it is a viable option)? Would love to know your thoughts/suggestions!

Cinco and Caroline