Multi-unit Rental Income

[Brandon Shealy]

Hi.  My fiancee and I are looking to buy our first property.  We plan on buying a multi-family, living in one unit and renting out the rest.   

We would like to know, if we are buying a one that already has units being rented out, would we be able to count that rent as income when applying for a mortgage?

Also, if the other units are not being rented, but we plan on renting them out, could that be counted?

Thanks!

Brandon

[Kevin Siedlecki]

@Brandon Shealy

Call a few banks to find one that will count the rent.  If you are going to invest beyond this one purchase, you'll want to develop a relationship with a bank that counts it anyway, because that make it easier to buy your next place, too.  Some banks will count on estimated rent on vacant units, although most won't give you credit for the whole amount.  

To @Randy Landman's point, the type of loan will limit you here.  You should have no problem finding a bank that will give you credit for the expected rent if you can put 25% down as if it were a pure investment property, but then you are missing out on one of the benefits of house-hacking, as @Matt Slakey mentioned: getting a loan that allows you to put a lot less down.  If you can qualify without counting the rental income, you should almost definitely do that.