How many rental properties can one buy?

probably not even one, if you already have primary residence.

Why not just buy a building over a few apts in someone else's building?

I have three condos, two I rent out and one as my primary residence. And I am closing on a house this week. The income from my regular 9 to 5 job is low six figures, but I have significant rental income from my two rentals, and have an agreement to rent out my primary condo and move into the house I am buying. You obviously need to have good rental income, at least breaking even with your rental income covering all your expenses. I would definately talk to a mortgage broker, I found dealing directly with the banks a total waste of time. they required two years rental income before they would count it. total BS. I went with a mortgage broker and had no problem getting the loans I needed. Good luck!

>911turbo, nice to hear that you are doing it. Have you found if there is some limit to total outstanding mortgage loan you can have with all banks/lenders combined? I was assuming Debt-to-Income ratio would get bigger and bigger as you have more properties (even if you have positive cash flow rental income) and would raise red flags with lenders, is this not really the case? I heard that it was much easier pre-crisis, but credit requirements are much tighter now I guess. Has this affected you? Thanks for your comments.

realdeal777 is correct.
DTI becomes out of whack even if you have positive cash flow. Can't pull off a 400k rental with low 6figure (assuming primary residence in place).

Yes, the lender will look at your DTI ratio and make sure it is OK. Assuming I close on my house, I will have three mortgages on four properties, including primary residence. I am helped that I own one condo out right with no mortgage. As long as the rental income for any of my rentals covers 100% of my carrying costs, they essentially cancel each other out. I was told that once an individual has more then 4 mortgages, then it becomes much more difficult to get the 5th. Honestly, I also thought there was no way I could buy a house, but I have a terrific mortgage broker who I have done business with before and they took care of it. Don't deal with the banks directly. Find a good mortgage broker.

Can you give us his name 911turbo? I own a condo with tons of equity. I'd like to rent it out and buy another condo. Renting would provide enough income to pay for the new place. I'm having trouble trying to get a mortgage for the place. Would appreciate the info. thanks

>911turbo, thanks for the comments. May I know if you are borrowing from one of the large banks or a smaller lender who might have more flexible policy on lending. Thank you.

I'd give you the contact info of my broker if I thought it helpful but he is based in San Francisco (as I am). I moved here a year ago from NYC; one of my rentals is in NYC and the rest of my rentals and home is in San Francisco. I'm not sure if the lender is a big or small bank; I think the firm that my broker works for holds the mortgage for some time and then sells it off to another bank. But in my experience, the smaller banks are definately more flexible. When I dealt with B of A, Wells Fargo and US Bank directly, I got nowhere.