I think you nailed it- the market was reacting to the influx of jobs, which likely comes with transplants looking for housing.

Fannie Mae has a requirement that if you want to use the rental income from the non occupied units, that you MUST have a current housing expense which means you cannot live rent free.

Hi Matt and all,I’m a transplant (former military as well) with one apartment building in the N Hills and on the hunt for the next one. 

Aside from that, there are DSCR loans out there that cater to first time homebuyers, some that even allow those that live rent free to purchase as well.

Out of state :)Quote from @Dennis Knapp: Quote from @Kristine Wights: I’m a west coast transplant now in Ohio.

The guy who claims he is the country's biggest wholesaler and has a "community" says in his video from yesterday Dec 31 (search #251 Wholesale Hotline | LIVE Real Estate Investing Q&A if interested in his "technique"  start at 0:39:00 that the most recent transaction he did Was bailing out a guy in foreclosureGuru "bought" the house for $375,000 from the guy in foreclosureSold it back to them for $498,000 with a 6 month buy back option periodSeller had to give him $20,000 for the optionSo, guru will make about $148,000 on the transaction "Never been to the house, never had to lift a finger""No renovation, the guy is still in the house"Is this the kind of thing the new Oregon law is intended to address? 

Pricing in DFW probably means you wont live rent free,and will have to pay your fair share of normal rent, but you also get 3 more people contributing to your loan paydown and you get to keep the appreciation.Buy hey...maybe I'm wrong....go talk to a local bank or credit union near where you live and get a term sheet from them for financing. 

These are 11 months since transplanted, from about 10 inches tall. 

And to pile on, if you didn't own this property, then you would be paying $700 or more in rent each month to live somewhere else.It's nice when you can find a hack that allows you to live rent-free, but that doesn't happen often.

@Brandon Weis, the reason and the only reason why they cannot use the rental income on the other units for a conventional loan is because you probably live rent free and don't have a housing expense.