Typically 75% of rental income can be applied towards your DTI for qualification. 

I’m starting to lean more towards private lending as a way to get my toes wet and get my money working for me in a relatively stable way.I’m looking for educational resources or literature.

You're better off opting for an interest-only mortgage, saving on payments, and then refinancing it into something more conventional when interest rates drop—or, if possible, making a plan to pay down the principal.Interest-only loans, which typically last for the first 5 to 10 years of the loan term, offer two key benefits.

You can also ask the title company to offeer a "lean Fee Sheet" meaning "Cut the fat" and reduce the BS fee's.  

It's one thing to say that "a typical tenant would likely stay for X years" and another to say that "on average, across our properties and thousands of leases, we see that tenants stay X years" -- the first one is a bit of an assumption and the second one is a stated fact. 

They will also dictate the terms of the loan, how it's filed, qualifications, etc.However, if you mean PML as in your friends/family that have NO experience in real estate and just have money sitting around...then I would certainly to counsel you to lean on some type of mentor or other experienced investor in Houston on what to do. 

I’m leaning towards the Fannie Mae route but have no idea the process to transfer it to your LLC later.

But in slower markets or times when cash flow can provide stability, I'd lean that way.

With multiple units, you’re less exposed to vacancy risk—if one tenant moves out, you still have income from the others.If you’re leaning toward long-term buy-and-hold, multifamily might align better with your strategy.

Which areas are you leaning more towards?