An alternative lender may offer better leverage but will be more costly.

Each lenders states that they can lend in are different but typically you don’t have to live in the state you’re purchasing the property and the lender can be located in an alternate state as well.

Alternatively, there is a category of loans called non-QM.

For those who feel comfortable living with roommates or who want to get into real estate investment gradually, house hacking SFR is an excellent alternative since it enables you to start small and live in one unit while renting out the others.

The horrific things that happened to me forced me think of alternate ways to get into a home.

I have made more money, especially these last few years with the appreciation in areas like Third Ward/5th Ward/EADO than investing in safer areas like Katy, Cinco Ranch, and Cypress.

We can look up ownership on the county records here, I suggest you spend a few minutes trying that, but it's even safer to have a title report which runs about $65 to $95.

Observation 2:  With the COVID trend of people wanting to move out of the 'big city' (Toronto) and into 'safer' locations SSM appears to be one of the locations people are migrating towards (along with Northbay, and Sudbury). 

A possible alternative to cash out is to sell the property to your family member, so that the property stays in the family and the equity is accessed.

Other than closing costs, it seems to be a safer way to go and probably wouldn’t have as much issue finding lenders if your DTI is acceptable.