Qualifying for loan on first real estate property

[David Hodge]

My Wife and I are planning to pull equity out of our house to purchase out first rental property (possibly multiples). We are most likely going to buy in Memphis. Before we pull the equity out we want to make sure we will qualify for a loan to buy these since we plan to put 20% down. My question is this.. when banks determine whether you qualify, do they take into account the rental income you expect to receive? I'm worried about this because after paying bills, contributions to 401k, etc. we don't have a lot left over. Since the SFHs we are looking at should have a positive cash flow from day 1, this shouldn't matter but do banks account for the positive CF? Im assuming this might depend on the bank? Any insight would be much appreciated!

[Josh Mitchell]

@David Hodge @David Hutson @James Wise

As David and James both said, yes banks will consider your rental income. I have dealt with banks who will consider up to 75% of your rents. (Ex: $1,200*.75= $900, then you deduct PITI from that number) If you are wanting to continue to invest, you will need to show 2 years of landlording experience on your taxes for conventional financing with banks.