You need two years of steady income before you can qualify for a loan.

i wish i had better news for you but it's probably not feasible in the short term to replace your W2 income with rental income. 

There are plenty of banks across the US that also have a stated income heloc (in the Carolinas, First Citizens will do up to $100k with no income verification). 

Oh....you can also pay off the mortgage even faster with your ample income or soon to be ample income.  3-5 year payoff time is definitely possible. 

The absolute best way to avoid taxes is not earn income.  

Your income isn't high enough for it to make sense as a rental and the closer you get to your residence limit the greater pressure you will have to sell it before losing your exclusion in whole or part. 500k right now can make $15k per year income with zero maintenance or tenant risks. 

I also have personal W2 income, if that matters.Is there a loan out there for a set-up like this at 15% down? 

Through proactive maintenance, efficient tenant placement, and careful financial management, I optimized rental income and ensured a steady cash flow.

However, before you do so you should ensure that your revenue from rental income covers ALL your property expenses in the townhome, including mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance/repairs, vacancy, property management, etc...

At it's basic level:Assumption: Asking the bank to turn the loan over to you and going through the normal underwriting process, credit, income, DTI ratio etc SubTo: Taking over the loan without telling the bank, no underwriting, no credit check, no income verificationBoth have risks, but it's not my intent to be detailed in this post.