Going full-time into real estate, especially with a family, is a big step, but starting small with smaller investments and side hustles while keeping your steady income is a smart way to go.

The city has a strong rental market driven by population growth, providing stable income streams for investors.

I applaud you in that you are going to use this Arbitrage job to earn funds to buy a future house.

You can access the equity via a few different ways to purchase your next property (cash out refi / HELOC / etc.) and since you'll be doing everything by the book and all of your tenants will have leases, you can use those to help with your DTI (debt to income) for future purchases.There's a lot there.

If it's DTI and they are giving you a hassle on using rental income from the departing residence - you can usually work around this by ordering an appraisal on that property or showing a lease agreement dated after your departure.

From what I understand so far, the asset matters more than the borrower's income BUT many lenders have a "net-worth" requirement.

As long as it’s earning a required minimum return, why sell and then have to find another investment, usually with more risk and less return?  

In my opinion: Your current income is a major factor. 

What income do you show on your IRS returns as net number?

Both my husband and I are W-2 employed with a combined income of $185KWe are not planning to flip the home.