Originally posted by @John Warren:
@Timothy Chi you have a few options here actually. The first thing to remember is that if you buy an occupied property then 75% of the rented units count as income to help you qualify. This is part of what makes house hacking so easy in a lot of ways. The other rents boost your income. You should make sure you are working with an investor friendly lender who understands this. You should be able to qualify for a much more expensive duplex than you could for a single family home.
The other thing you could do is to report more income on your taxes. This will sound counter intuitive, but a lot of investors have run into this issue over the years. I even know some successful rental investors that report income just so they can qualify. I wouldn't personally go this route unless you just can't get into the 2-4 unit space.
That's great advice. I did ask my lender about using rental income and he said it needs to be a history of showing rental income. Future rental income wouldn't count. I've heard that with a couple of lenders but it sounds like with your experience, that's not always the case?
I never thought about reporting more income on my taxes. The benefit of being a travel PT was the significant higher income and lower taxes. It certainly is backfiring in my current situation though! I think reporting more income on my taxes would be a good alternative come early next year if I still don't find another way.
Thanks for the advice!
