The required verifiable income for the rental is $3600 per month. 

cost of loan on primary home would outweigh potential income on investment property over 30 year life of loan. trying to figure out way that makes sense!

When I bought a house 2 years ago, I wanted to buy a duplex and my lender told me I wasn't able to use the theoretical rental income to help qualify.

A few other things to consider:-If your plan is to mortgage the second property you should verify beforehand that the refinance on your current primary residence won't push your debt to Income ratio too high to get approval on the new mortgage. 

Sure you're kicking out a renter that's giving you $x in income, but you're likely paying $x to live where you're at now.  

Other items to consider:- Income or loss from operations in an OZ is taxed normally- An OZ is a lower income census tract designated by each states Governor.

Looking at a couple of properties and the valuation based on income information, expenses desired cap rate is giving a property value that is way off from asking price (mkt?)

For reference, the total rental income is ~$3500 and we are fairly flexible in how much we can put down, though less is obviously better for leverage.

This got me thinking about what I wanted/ needed after retiring...a passive income.

Do you have a high income job?