Creative financing for STR?

[Julie McCoy]

Hey all! I have a relatively unique financial position and am interested in sourcing financing for my next STR - I'd love your input/experiences with different possibilities.

Thumbnail of my situation: I'm a professional in the film/television industry, which by its nature consists of short- to medium-term employment. I recently finished working on a TV show, and am now unemployed until I get my next gig (which I'm not in a big hurry to do, since full-time employment means 70-80 hours/week). I rent my residence and have one mortgage on an investment property (STR), and I have a good amount of cash on hand.

I want to dive into my next STR investment, but given that I don't currently have W2 income, I don't believe I'll qualify for a conventional loan. My current STR grosses between $3-4k/mo, and for the time being unemployment will yield $1800/mo. I have excellent credit and my debt-to-income ratio is currently acceptable; when I'm employed it's excellent.

Any thoughts on how I could secure low-interest financing for my next STR? I'm looking at homes with established histories as profitable STRs, with a purchase price between $200-250k. Are there good financing options for me or should I just wait until I'm employed again before I purchase, and get a good ol' conforming loan? Thanks in advance for your input!

[Julie McCoy]

Hi @Brandi Baker - since I began this thread a year ago I've purchased three STRs in the low to mid-$100s that are poised to gross at least $35k/year :)