House Hacking, with other rental debt and low income

House Hacking
1yFollow

House Hacking, with other rental debt and low income

Nate Marroquin
Member since 2025 · 6 posts · 3 votes

Hello!

I am trying to get a second property via house hacking and have some questions for anyone who's willing to answer. I am a resident physician in dermatology, during medical school I bought a property in Denver with an Interest rate of 2.75% (COVID rates lol) with the goals of renting it out when I moved onto the residency. Now that house has been rented out for the past two years, and I want to buy another possible duplex or triplex to house hack. However, my debt to income ratio with that home loan, and student loan doesn't look that great currently and I don't have much for a down payment. In the next 4 years my income will drastically increase, but I don't want to wait 4 years to buy another property that will be an investment. I do know of the physician loans, I am also a veteran so I have the VA loan, and I was also looking at the FHA loans, but can anyone give me any insight that will help me get into a multi family with the salary situation I'm in?

Thanks!

Nate

2Reply
29 views

Most Popular Reply

Adrian Lammersdorf-SciollBusiness Member
Realtor · FL · Member since 2020 · 221 posts · 101 votes
1y

I'm helping a buyer right now that works int he hospital get 5% funded for them on a home, that may be something to look into, it's called hometown heroes here in Florida.  As for your income, you need to talk to a lender that is licensed in your area.  There is a lender finder that you can use to get connected with a few.  If you are worried about it I would find a duplex or triplex/quad that already has one side rented and the other is month to month and use the income from the one rented to help you qualify.  You can use some easy number in Chat GPT to help you figure out what you need.  Here's an easy prompt for it:

Please calculate how much I can afford for a duplex using FHA current guidelines of debt to income ratio, with one side being rented currently for "XXXX" amount. I have "XXXX" of debts every month, and make "XXXX" every two weeks.

That will find the cost of duplex you need, though you may need to verify it is using current FHA guidelines as they have changed recently, so make sure you use that.

[email protected]561-305-2404
Thomas Lynne Realty527 Reviews
WebsiteView Page
1Reply
See this reply in the discussion

10 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Adrian Lammersdorf-SciollBusiness Member
    Realtor · FL · Member since 2020 · 221 posts · 101 votes
    1y

    I'm helping a buyer right now that works int he hospital get 5% funded for them on a home, that may be something to look into, it's called hometown heroes here in Florida.  As for your income, you need to talk to a lender that is licensed in your area.  There is a lender finder that you can use to get connected with a few.  If you are worried about it I would find a duplex or triplex/quad that already has one side rented and the other is month to month and use the income from the one rented to help you qualify.  You can use some easy number in Chat GPT to help you figure out what you need.  Here's an easy prompt for it:

    Please calculate how much I can afford for a duplex using FHA current guidelines of debt to income ratio, with one side being rented currently for "XXXX" amount. I have "XXXX" of debts every month, and make "XXXX" every two weeks.

    That will find the cost of duplex you need, though you may need to verify it is using current FHA guidelines as they have changed recently, so make sure you use that.

    [email protected]561-305-2404
    Thomas Lynne Realty527 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Adrian Lammersdorf-SciollBusiness Member
    Realtor · FL · Member since 2020 · 221 posts · 101 votes
    1y
    Quote from @Adrian Lammersdorf-Scioll:

    I'm helping a buyer right now that works int he hospital get 5% funded for them on a home, that may be something to look into, it's called hometown heroes here in Florida.  As for your income, you need to talk to a lender that is licensed in your area.  There is a lender finder that you can use to get connected with a few.  If you are worried about it I would find a duplex or triplex/quad that already has one side rented and the other is month to month and use the income from the one rented to help you qualify.  You can use some easy number in Chat GPT to help you figure out what you need.  Here's an easy prompt for it:

    Please calculate how much I can afford for a duplex using FHA current guidelines of debt to income ratio, with one side being rented currently for "XXXX" amount. I have "XXXX" of debts every month, and make "XXXX" every two weeks.

    That will find the cost of duplex you need, though you may need to verify it is using current FHA guidelines as they have changed recently, so make sure you use that.


     Make sure to also put the interest rate and years of loan, and how much down as well.

    [email protected]561-305-2404
    Thomas Lynne Realty527 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Wale LawalBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Houston | Dallas | Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    1y

    @Nate Marroquin

    You're in a great position to house hack before your income increases, and you have multiple financing options to make it work. If you're eligible, a VA loan is your best choice since it requires $0 down, no PMI, and allows multi-family properties. If not, an FHA loan (3.5% down, up to 4 units) is your next best option. To improve your approval chances, use rental income from your first property, consider co-signers, and explore lenders that use Income-Based Repayment (IBR) for student loans. Start by getting pre-approved with a VA/FHA lender and targeting a multi-family property where rental income covers most of your mortgage.

    Good luck!

    [email protected]832-776-9582Podcast Guest on Show #469
    NETWORTH BUILDERS5236 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Austin Steed
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2016 · 593 posts · 664 votes
    1y

    When I did my first house hack in Columbus I showed very low income on taxes. 

    One way that I was able to get into my first property was counting 70% of the rental income of the other unit on a duplex. This helped my Debt to income a ton and I was able to close on the deal. You could look for properties that are already getting solid rents in one of the units. 


    I would go the VA loan if you can, no pmi will help your debt ratio as well.

    1Reply
  • Eric DeNardoPro Member
    Real Estate Agent · Denver · Member since 2020 · 363 posts · 151 votes
    1y

    Hey @Nate Marroquin, Do you have a year lease in place for your current home? That can offset your debt to improve your DTI, but it needs to be a year lease. You may think about buying a SFH instead of multi-family if you're working with a lower price point. Let's chat more about it and see what your options are.

    [email protected]
    1Reply
  • Rick Albert
    Real Estate Agent · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1y

    People have brought up interesting ideas to help you get to the next level. Obviously buying MFU means more income coming in. 

    One interesting option is doing a renovation loan to add a unit. For example, buying a triplex and converting the garage into a four plex and converting it to an Accessory Dwelling Unit. Check with the lender but my understanding is they will count that potential income as well.

    0Reply
  • Jay HurstBusiness Member
    Lender · Dallas, TX · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1y
    Quote from @Nate Marroquin:

    Hello!

    I am trying to get a second property via house hacking and have some questions for anyone who's willing to answer. I am a resident physician in dermatology, during medical school I bought a property in Denver with an Interest rate of 2.75% (COVID rates lol) with the goals of renting it out when I moved onto the residency. Now that house has been rented out for the past two years, and I want to buy another possible duplex or triplex to house hack. However, my debt to income ratio with that home loan, and student loan doesn't look that great currently and I don't have much for a down payment. In the next 4 years my income will drastically increase, but I don't want to wait 4 years to buy another property that will be an investment. I do know of the physician loans, I am also a veteran so I have the VA loan, and I was also looking at the FHA loans, but can anyone give me any insight that will help me get into a multi family with the salary situation I'm in?

    Thanks!

    Nate

     @Nate Marroquin   You can use the income from your tax returns on the current rental adding back your paper loss (depreciation) and add back the mortgage interest, property taxes, home owners insurance deductions on your tax returns.  This is the form that would be used: https://content.enactmi.com/documents/calculators/Form1038.C...   

    After punching your rental income from tax returns MOST people more or less break even ion a rental. That means there is not really an effect on the debt to income ratio neither positive (income) or negative (loss) but rather simply making that payment  non issue. 

    And when you buy a 2-4 unit you can use 75% of the rent that the appraiser says will bring in on the units you will not be occupying. So, if the rents for a duplex would be 2k each, you can use the 75% of 2000, which is 1500 as income to go against the payment. So, if the total payment was  2500 you would only need to cover 1000 dollars a month with your income. 

    Of course your other debts including student loans go into the mix to come up with your total debt to income but the income needed  is a lot smaller then a lot of borrowers in your situation tend to  think.  

    Hurst Real Estate, INC4.989 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Marc RiceBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1y
    Quote from @Nate Marroquin:

    Hello!

    I am trying to get a second property via house hacking and have some questions for anyone who's willing to answer. I am a resident physician in dermatology, during medical school I bought a property in Denver with an Interest rate of 2.75% (COVID rates lol) with the goals of renting it out when I moved onto the residency. Now that house has been rented out for the past two years, and I want to buy another possible duplex or triplex to house hack. However, my debt to income ratio with that home loan, and student loan doesn't look that great currently and I don't have much for a down payment. In the next 4 years my income will drastically increase, but I don't want to wait 4 years to buy another property that will be an investment. I do know of the physician loans, I am also a veteran so I have the VA loan, and I was also looking at the FHA loans, but can anyone give me any insight that will help me get into a multi family with the salary situation I'm in?

    Thanks!

    Nate


    I would use a low money down owner occ 2-4 unit loan which allows the highest DTI possible. It would be good to talk to a lender to make a game plan and review your financials.

    [email protected]614-363-2787
    Marc Rice | Investor Friendly Agent at Reafco Tailwind Team574 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Jake AndronicoBusiness Member
    Realtor · Reno, NV · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 938 votes
    1y

    @Nate Marroquin

    Any side hustles you can do to get income and savings up? 

    415-233-1796
    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free