Only 20 years old, I hope to make a lot of progress, not only providing my RE agent skills, but as an investor as well.

The final list of Qualified Opportunity Zones was signed off by Treasury in June 2018.  

Hey BP World,NEW TO THIS REAL ESTATE WORLD....BUT we are looking to buy a house and may not be able to get pre-qualified for mortgage due to work history with current Non-Profit (Self-Employment) not being established for over 2 years. 

As for rental income being included in your Debt to Income ratio to qualify for a loan, I don't know the rules, but generally if it's not on your tax return, and/or they take a percentage of rent and apply that to the formula.

Does this qualify under the rules?

Second question, Should I go toward the top of my budget (qualified at $260,000 and currently looking at properties near that amount) at the start, or should I scale back and do a smaller property a little further away to test the waters and gain some experience with finding and managing tenants, but will allow me to easily afford the mortgage in the event of vacancy.Any advice, or criticism, would be greatly appreciated.

@Fred CanzanoI agree very strongly with @Brian Eastman do not rush this decision as it is an important one, you want a custodian that you trust, however be sure to have those funds deposited into a qualified account before your 60 days are up.In terms of custodians, here are some things to consider. 1.

My choices are:PNC Bank - 5.37% APR. up to 89%. annual fee $50, but waived since I have a qualifying checking.

@Jermaine Riggs   Remember the 6PsPrior Planning Prevents P*ssPoor Performance There are steps that you can be taking today that will better ensure you will be able to qualify for the best of terms on your purchase in TX.1. have a Mortgage Broker run a Tri-Merged MORTGAGE credit report and pay the extra $15 for them to also run the "What If" score increase simulator to know how best to pay down debt in the interim2. start eating MREs and saving like a maniac until you close as the more money you can show in reserves Post-Closing, the better the programs you can qualify for.etc,etc,etc,   

After quarter one i realized that my organizational skills around xcel are horrible and alot of leads were slipping through the cracks!