I have clients who are buying a rental property or who are buying a primary residence and already own rental property and think they need to provide a copy of a current lease for the rental property as part of the loan application. But, that is not always the case.

The borrower may be able to document rental income by providing tax returns, rather than leases.  In either a purchase or refinance the borrower should have a history of renting property.  If the request is for a refinance, the borrower needs to have owned the property long enough to qualify for this option, typically a 2 year history is needed.

If the request is for a loan to purchase a new rental property, then having existing rental property with a 2 year track record income may allow them to use the tax return option.

If the borrower does not have a history of renting the subject property or if the borrower’s tax returns do not reflect the accurate income or expenses, then a mortgage lender may require one of two things: Read the rest of this entry »