DTI too high for FHA loan on House Hack

[Robert Johnson]

Hey BP!

I am trying to get ready to go after my first house hack 4 plex in the McAllen area in Texas. I have been working on trying to get my financing in order.

This is going to be my second property, I bought a SFH last year before I started learning more about REI. Running the numbers on my house now, I would like to hold onto it as a rental property. Running the deal looks like I'd get about $300 (conservatively) a month in cash flow keeping it.

The only problem is that this throws my debt to income ratio off a bit more than most lenders I’ve been talking to want. I currently have W2 income of about 45k a year and I’m looking at properties in the 220k-250k range.

Is there any way to use the rental incomes from the SFH or the potential rental incomes from the house hacks to get a lower DTI? Any other strategies you all think would work? Or should I just look at selling my SFH. Thanks in advance guys!

[Cesar Avendano]

David is spot on. Talk to a lender but more so a lender that is willing to look at your situation and attempt to look for solutions. 

Keep in mind that financing through a bank is not the only way to get into REÍ.