Buying a 2 to 4 unit home in Manchester, NH and living in one unit

How can rent from the other units help me qualify?

• FHA. HUD allows rental income from a two- to four-unit home to be counted. With no rental history, the appraisal includes a market rent estimate for the units; with a history, the lender uses your last two years of tax returns with Schedule E.
• Conventional (Fannie Mae). Rent can be documented with the appraisal's rent schedule or leases, and whether you've managed rentals before can change how it's counted.

What extra checks apply to three- and four-unit buildings?

HUD requires FHA borrowers buying three- or four-unit homes to have cash reserves equal to three months of mortgage payments after closing. Every lender looks at the condition of each unit, and the appraisal covers the whole building.

What should I ask for before I make an offer?

• Copies of every lease, the rent roll and any security deposits the seller will transfer at closing. Existing leases usually stay in place when a building sells.
• The lead-based paint disclosure. Many of Manchester's multi-unit buildings are older, and federal law requires sellers of homes built before 1978 to disclose any known lead-based paint and give you a chance to test before you're bound.
• A quote for landlord insurance, and a budget for repairs and vacancies.

What do Manchester taxes add?

Manchester's 2025 rate is $20.24 per $1,000 of assessed value, about $169 a month for each $100,000 of assessed value, and the city assessed at about 64.8% of market value in 2025. Tom runs the payment with the building's actual assessment.

What if I won't live there?

Then it's an investment property, and conventional investment loans or DSCR loans, which qualify on the property's rent, apply instead. The investor options page compares them.

Next step: Send Tom the listing. He'll lay out FHA, conventional and VA side by side for that building, with the rent and the real tax. No credit pull to start.