We are a two-income family. I'm employed by a company; my spouse is self-employed. We have ample liquid assets. I make a nice salary but not as much to satisfy the 40x rule for the amount of rent we'd likely need to pay. Credit rating excellent; no lateness with current rent payments. When renting from a leasing company vs individual owner, what is the standard required for financial information when one is self-employed?

> I make a nice salary but not as much to satisfy the 40x rule for the amount of rent we'd likely need to pay

maybe you should consider renting a similar place in a cheaper neighborhood, so you can support the rent on your own wage at a 40x - 50x ratio.

notadmin - That statement makes no sense. Based on the information the OP provided, the couple is clearly living within their means. Simple example (just making up numbers to make a point) - Company employed spouse makes $50,000/year; self-employed spouse has made $300,000+ for each of the last 3 years. Why should they limit themselves to 40-50x the $50,000 salary. In fact, the way companies lay off people and depending on self-employed spouse's field, self-employed spouse's job may be significantly more secure.

OP - To answer your question - I don't know for the rental market (sorry) but I know Wells Fargo requires two years of tax returns to document self-employment.

If you have ample liquid assets, pay the rent upfront. Otherwise get an accountant letter and tax returns for the self-employed spouse.

Letter from a CPA and/or tax returns.

Keith Burkhardt
TBG

Leasing company or sponsored units are usually better to deal with than condo owners. With that said, as others have mentioned, a CPA letter should do the trick. Tax return, unless you are comfortable giving a "stranger" all that info in your tax return, is usually an overkill in my opinion. What do you need to see my Sched D, for instance, for a self-employed ? Why do you care how my expense and income matches up ? It's none of your f*k*g business ? :) Here's my income, it verified and legitimate. Go "scratch" something :)

[If you have ample liquid assets, pay the rent upfront.]

It's even more hilarious how things have become so insane in the rental market. Let's say you pay up front half a year's rent to assuage the landlord's paranoia. Do you get a 'break' for giving them your money ahead of time ? Yeah, that's as likely as you can beat Tiger in a 9-hole face-off.

Fact of the matter is, rental price are insane yet renters have no leverage in most negotiation. If I am paying you 1/2 a year's rent in advance, I better be getting a discount! It's your problem, not mind, that you can't earn diddily squat in accruded interest :)