People are confusing the exceptions for having 2 FHA loans at once with the FHA rule for counting rental income.

And, many of the RE millionaires I know have made their fortunes by buying essentially flat cash flow properties and then having them fully paid off in 15 years not counting the appreciation.

The education and health services sector alone added 23,800 jobs in the past year, reflecting a significant expansion in these industries, particularly in healthcare and social assistance​.Proximity to Major Employment Centers: Greater Heights offers convenient access to key employment hubs such as downtown Houston and the Galleria area, which are major attractors for residents due to the short commute and abundant job opportunities​.Education: Nearby institutions like University of Houston and Rice University contribute to the area's appeal.Infrastructure Projects: Ongoing developments like the East Blocks Redevelopment and BioHub II at Generation Park enhance local amenities and attractiveness.Investment InsightsGreater Heights Rental Market Trends:Single-Family House Rentals:Median Rent: $1,350 for 1 bedroom, $2,695 for 2 bedrooms, $3,250 for 3 bedrooms, and $6,100 for 4+ bedrooms​​.Stability in rent prices with modest YoY increases: 2 bedroom rents increased by $195, and 3 bedroom rents by $250​​.Median Sold Price YoY ComparisonApartment Rentals:1 bedroom apartments saw a YoY increase of $305, 2 bedroom apartments by $667, indicating strong demand for these unit types​​.Available Rentals:High availability of both house and apartment rentals, indicating a robust market that can support new rental investments​​.Sales Market Trends:Median Sale Prices:Significant appreciation in home values, particularly in 1-bedroom homes, which saw a 190.7% increase from $215K to $625K​​.Other bedroom counts also showed positive appreciation, e.g., 2 bedrooms (5.3%), 3 bedrooms (6.5%), 4 bedrooms (17.4%)​​.Market Activity:Increased number of homes for sale and sold, suggesting a dynamic and active real estate market.

Know the lenders requirements for the loan types you will need.For instance you may find you need to have liquid cash of 9 Months P&I and 100% of the loan amount as your personal net worth in order to avoid personal guarantees on the loan, and your retirement accounts may not count towards your liquidity.Know the requirements of the loan products for the apartments you want to buy.There are no books for that, that I know of--just lenders info.Because without that all else is just scholastic exercise.Good Luck!

My current goal is to build a close team that I can count on, that can count on me, and to own 4 long term rentals in the next 4 years. 

I am not totally sure it makes sense with a unit count under 10 but you can run the numbers and see what happens.

Will that count as my personal income?

Not to mention the fact that the criminals, once identified, can be counted on to dig themselves in even deeper on the way to realizing their jig is up. 

I guess I'm asking for something like a hard money lender, but I don't know if they lend on assets you already own.I guess you could put the paid off rental in a sandbox (trust, or corporation) so that the income from that rental is only counted against the debt from that rental then take basically any loan on it, but outside of that what options are there?

For short-term rentals (STR), your household needs to meet material participation rules and both of your hours counts towards the MP hours.