Cluttered desk in a yellow room.

How Many Mortgages Can You Have?

The Short Version

  • Fannie Mae currently limits the amount of conventionally financed properties in your name to 10
  • The requirements you’ll need to meet to finance your first four properties are different from the requirements you’ll need to meet to finance more than four properties
  • Financing multiple properties is a great way to grow your investment portfolio, build rental income or get a vacation home

Contents

See what mortgage you qualify for

NMLS #3030

*See what you qualify for

We teamed up with Rocket Mortgage to help you get house-hunting sooner! Answer a few questions to get your commitment-free, personalized rate 💸

Get Started by selecting an option below

What kind of loan are you interested in?

What to expect

Tell us what you need and a representative from Rocket Mortgage will give you a call. You’ll have support at every step.

What kind of property do you want to purchase? What kind of property do you own?

Why we’re asking

Rocket Mortgage® can provide a more accurate rate estimate if they know what kind of property you’re interested in.

NMLS #3030
How do you use your property? How would you use this property?

Why we’re asking

Having a little more information upfront helps Rocket Mortgage® provide a personalized rate faster.

NMLS #3030
When are you planning to buy?

Still House Hunting?

Hope you find your dream home soon! In the meantime, it’s never too early to know your rate.

NMLS #3030
Are you a first-time home buyer?

It’s all good:

Whether it’s your first – or second property – Rocket Mortgage® can provide you with a rate estimate.

NMLS #3030
Do you have a second mortgage?

It’s all good

If you have a second mortgage, it’s no problem. Letting us know helps to customize your rate.

NMLS #3030
What is your credit score?

Don’t know your score?

Don’t sweat it! Make your best guess. Credit scores range from 300 (low) to 850 (excellent).

NMLS #3030

Tell us a bit more about you

What happens next?

A representative from Rocket Mortgage® will be in touch to discuss your commitment-free, personalized rate. Then you can decide whether you’d like to lock it in!

NMLS #3030

Enter your contact info so we can get in touch

By submitting your contact information you agree to our Terms of Use and our Security and Privacy Policy. You also expressly consent to having Rocket Mortgage, our Family of Companies, and potentially our mortgage partners contact you about your inquiry by text message or phone (including automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice) to the residential or cellular telephone number you have provided, even if that telephone number is on a corporate, state, or national Do Not Call Registry. You do not have to agree to receive such calls or messages as a condition of getting any services from Rocket Mortgage or its affiliates. By communicating with us by phone, you consent to calls being recorded and monitored.

NMLS #3030
Your information has been sent!

A home loan expert from Rocket Mortgage® will reach out to you soon with your personalized rate.

Your information has been sent!

A refinance expert from Rocket Mortgage® will reach out to you soon with your personalized rate.

Maybe you’ve successfully purchased your first home – and now you’re hooked. You’re determined to grow your real estate investments. That could mean creating a rental portfolio or buying a vacation home (or homes). 

Since you managed to get approved for your first mortgage, getting approved for a few more should be straightforward, right? The short answer is maybe. Depending on the number of properties you want to be financed, the requirements to qualify for mortgages get stricter. 

While owning multiple properties can be a great way to grow your investment portfolio, make sure you understand what you’re getting into before you start building your real estate empire. 

Is There a Limit to How Many Mortgages You Can Have? 

After the 2008 housing crisis, the Federal National Mortgage Association (aka Fannie Mae) cracked down on the maximum number of mortgages an individual borrower can qualify for and got more stringent on lending requirements for multiple mortgages. Fannie Mae allows individual borrowers to finance up to 10 conventional mortgages.[1]

But just because you can get up to 10 mortgages, doesn’t mean you’ll qualify for 10 mortgages. 

The more mortgages you qualify for, the higher your debt will grow and the higher risk you might pose to a lender. Lenders will likely be reluctant to approve you for additional mortgages unless you’ve got a stellar credit history and a significant amount of cash reserves.

How To Qualify for Multiple Mortgages

Getting approved for additional mortgages after your first mortgage will almost always come with extra challenges, but the mortgage and lender requirements to qualify for multiple mortgages change based on whether you’re trying to qualify for financing on your first four properties or you’re trying to qualify for financing on more than four properties.

Qualifying for 6 or fewer mortgages

Financing six or fewer mortgages is the most common multiple mortgage scenario and generally comes with less stringent qualifications. Fannie Mae’s requirements for each additional home loan up to six are typically the same as the requirements to finance your first mortgage. 

To get approved for a second property (or up to four properties), your lender will likely want you to have:[1]

  • A good or excellent credit score (670 or higher)
  • A loan-to-value (LTV) ratio less than 80%
  • Demonstrated rental property performance and good cash flow and reserves
  • Proof of income, financial statements, income tax returns or property lease agreements
  • Information about other existing mortgages

An investment property for rental, vacation or any purpose other than a primary residence rules out a few financing options. If you’re not living on the property, you won’t be able to qualify for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans that come with lower credit score and down payment requirements. You’ll probably also have to deal with higher mortgage rates for investment properties.

Meet with your local bank or mortgage broker to discuss the requirements for your situation.

Qualifying for 7 – 10 mortgages

It’s uncommon for a borrower to have more than six financed properties. Fannie Mae requires a credit score of 720 or higher to qualify for 7 – 10 mortgages. Other than the higher credit score, the standard requirements for 1-6 mortgages apply:[1]

What To Consider Before Getting Multiple Mortgages

If you can get approved for multiple mortgages, consider the advantages and disadvantages of taking on so many financed properties. Take a good look at your finances and your financial goals before financing another property.

Financing multiple mortgages is a serious, costly, time-consuming undertaking – but it can come with rewards. Check out some of the pros and cons.

Pros of multiple mortgages

  • Aside from covering down payments and closing costs, you don’t need that much cash on hand to get approved (though it helps to have a lot of money saved). Once you have multiple investment or rental properties set up, you can organize and optimize your operational costs and payments.
  • If you have enough equity, you can potentially use the equity to help pay for the additional properties with a home equity line of credit (HELOC). When you use equity instead of your cash reserves, that frees you up to use your extra investment or rental income in more efficient ways.

Cons of multiple mortgages

  • In addition to higher down payments and interest rates, multiple mortgages come with added risk. If your income drops or your cash flow decreases, you may be on the hook for continuing to pay off a huge amount of debt. This puts you at risk for foreclosures and big hits to your credit score.

Managing multiple mortgages

  • You’ll have a complex repayment schedule to manage with multiple mortgages. To effectively manage your mortgages, establish a system that helps you keep track of your repayments and their amounts. Try and stagger payments throughout the month so all your payments aren’t taken out of your account all at once, and your cash reserves never get too low. 
  • You can also explore the best financing options. Do you have a relationship with a local lender that you can leverage? Perhaps your best strategy is to use different lenders, both local and national, to spread your risk.

Alternatives To Financing Multiple Mortgages 

Applying for multiple conventional mortgages isn’t the only option you can take advantage of to finance properties. Consider the following alternatives to expand your real estate portfolio:

Blanket loans

A blanket loan or mortgage is a single mortgage you use to finance multiple properties. With a blanket mortgage, each financed property serves as collateral on the loan. Property investors and developers often opt for blanket loans because they offer the same interest rate across all the properties.

Although its requirements can be stricter, the process of getting a single blanket loan can sometimes be easier than qualifying for multiple mortgages. Blanket mortgages also include clauses that allow you to sell properties financed under the loan while keeping the mortgage intact.

Cash-out refinance 

A cash-out refinance is a mortgage alternative that lets you use the equity in your other properties to buy more properties. By borrowing more money than you owe on a property with equity, you can use the difference as cash to apply to other investment properties. 

The refinance replaces the old mortgage with a new one, so you’re still only managing one payment on the original property. You just need to have enough equity in the old property to fully fund the purchase of the new property.

Hard money loans 

Hard money loans are issued by individuals or private companies. These nonconforming loans use properties or assets as collateral and are intended for short turnarounds. They typically come with less stringent approval requirements but higher interest rates and shorter repayment periods. 

Although these loans can be helpful, the high interest rates and shorter terms (usually a few years) may make them less appealing than other options.

Portfolio lenders 

If you’re struggling to meet the qualifications for conventional mortgage loans, a portfolio loan might be a good option. Portfolio loans are a type of mortgage issued by traditional lenders, like your local bank, credit union or online lender. The lender keeps the loan in-house within their range of investment holdings.

Because the loans are kept in-house, lenders can set more flexible terms, such as lower credit score requirements or lending money to self-employed borrowers. However, less strict approval requirements can also mean the lender sets higher interest rates and less flexible payment terms.

Are Multiple Mortgages Right For Me?

Although an individual borrower can get up to 10 mortgages, you may not want to (or be able to) finance 10 properties with 10 conventional mortgages. It’s important to think strategically when it comes to financing and to consider advantageous funding alternatives.

Get approved to buy a home.

Rocket Mortgage® lets you get to house hunting sooner.

  1. Fannie Mae. “Selling Guide.” Retrieved March 2022 from https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/Selling-Guide/Origination-thru-Closing/Subpart-B2-Eligibility/Chapter-B2-2-Borrower-Eligibility/1032996271/B2-2-03-Multiple-Financed-Properties-for-the-Same-Borrower-09-01-2021.htm

You Should Also Check Out…