Finding the right lender, LLC or Single Borrower?

[Dominick Colello]

Hi everyone, I should start this by introducing myself, my name is Dominick. I’m 22 years old and just recently graduated from SUNY Albany. After years of living in student housing, both on- campus and off-campus, my two roommates and I became very interested in the real estate market around us. After reading a few of Brandon Turners books, I instantly became fascinated with the idea of not having to work behind a desk my whole life, that I can actually be “financially free”. After a few months of research and iPhone calculator breakdowns, I realized it could actually be a reality. Fast forward a year to present day: My two roommates now work in finance banking in Manhattan, about 2 1/2 hours away and I am the guy on the ground in Albany. They both have a starting salary of 80k with great credit and no major bills. Myself on the other hand, I’m a bartender who claims a little over 40k a year with average credit and on paper, a very high debt to income ratio. We have a fully established LLC, a banking account, a few good agents, and a good contractor. My partners are in finance so they handle that stuff and I’m the current property manager. Homes in our target area are priced from 100-200k , all depending on quality of the home. Mostly all 6 bedroom 2-family units. The lower quality homes can bring in $400 a bedroom and the higher priced homes attract graduate students and go for up to $550 a bedroom. I know all the risks of renting to students, especially with older homes and we have created a business model that accounts for that. The local landlords also charge insanely high security, (we paid $4,200 in the house I lived in). Now that you guys now everything about me, we can get to the actual reason I’m posting. Getting a loan, the only thing stopping us from purchasing our first home Is qualifying for a loan. Do we go through our LLC and pay a high down payment? Do I attempt to qualify for a FHA loan by myself with my low credentials? My partners are not able move up to Albany for at-least 5 years, so they can’t get an FHA loan. When approaching a lender, what are the top items that I must have with me in order to better my chances of getting approved? Thanks everyone! I appreciate all feedback