With certain banks, they can count your 12 months of rent, as long as they can source it.

If it is cheap I would do it but would not count on a huge ROI

@Ashish Acharya thank you for your response, but I feel I'm still missing/misunderstanding something - you said "the IRS allows spouses to combine their time for material participation purposes", followed by " only one of the spouse's hours counts for the REPS status, which means only one of your efforts can count" - which one it is?

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.

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

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.

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

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!

Will that count as my personal income?

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.