Looking for lenders who will count rental income before 2 years
I’m looking for advice on finding lenders who will count rental income from a property that has been operating as a rental for less than two full years.
Here’s my situation:
- I purchased the property in 2024 as an owner-occupied property.
- It’s a 3-bedroom townhome, and I initially lived in one bedroom while renting out the other two rooms.
- I lived there for one year.
- After one year, I moved out and converted it to a fully rented property.
- It is now rented by the room to three separate tenants, each with their own lease.
- The property has been continuously generating rental income since I purchased it, but it has only been a fully non-owner-occupied rental for about one year.
- I have leases documenting the current rental income.
The issue I’m running into is that some lenders are telling me they need to see two full years of rental history/tax returns before they will count the rental income toward qualifying.
I’m wondering if anyone here has experience with lenders who will consider rental income in a situation like mine, where:
1. The property was owner-occupied for the first year but had two paying tenants during that period.
2. It has subsequently been fully rented for approximately one year.
3. There are three separate leases and documented rental income.
4. The property has been operating as a rent-by-the-room rental rather than a traditional single-tenant lease.
Would an investment/portfolio lender, DSCR lender, non-QM lender, or local bank/credit union be more flexible with this?
I’m particularly interested in lenders who may be willing to use the current leases and/or an appraisal with market-rent documentation (1007/1025) rather than requiring two years of Schedule E history.
If you’ve successfully financed a similar rent-by-the-room property, I’d really appreciate hearing what type of lender you used and what documentation they required.
Thanks!