Fannie's New 45-Day Investment Property Rental Rule

New dedicated category

For a non-subject 1–4 unit investment property purchased within 45 days of the subject property's application date, Fannie's September 2026 policy uses a specific documentation/calculation path.

Lease is not permitted

Fannie expressly states lease agreements are not permitted to determine rent for this category.

Gross market rent

The lender may document market rent through an available appraisal with rents, Form 1007 for a single-unit property if no appraisal is available, or qualifying market-analysis tools for multi-unit properties using at least three comparable rentals.

Calculation

Multiply monthly gross market rent by 75%, then subtract the related property's PITIA to determine adjusted net rental income.

Positive result limitation

If positive, Fannie permits the income to offset PITIA only. If negative, the loss is included in DTI. Do not add a positive result to qualifying income in this category.

Investor underwriting checklist

Identify occupancy, unit count, purchase/refinance/cash-out purpose, current ownership/title, financed-property count, current PITIA on every retained property, leases, Schedule E history, acquisition dates, reserves, entity ownership, short-term-rental use, condo/project status and the exact agency or private-investor program. Rental income should be calculated only after the property is placed in the correct underwriting category.

Where experienced analysis matters

A deal can fail because the wrong rent document was used, positive rental income was treated too generously, reserves were calculated incorrectly, an LLC mortgage was counted incorrectly, a newly acquired rental was analyzed under an older rule, or a private DSCR overlay was presented as if it were a Fannie/Freddie requirement.

Primary sources

• Fannie General Rental Income
• Fannie Subject Rental
• Fannie Short-Term Rental
• Fannie Non-Subject Rental
• Fannie Departing Residence
• Fannie Recent Rental
• Fannie Multiple Properties
• Freddie Investment Property

Last reviewed September 15, 2026. Private DSCR/portfolio guidelines vary by investor and are not agency rules.

How I would underwrite the scenario step by step

1. Identify agency conventional versus private DSCR/portfolio financing. 2. Build a complete real-estate-owned schedule with ownership, mortgage obligation, PITIA, rent, acquisition date and entity vesting. 3. Determine the permitted rental documentation for each property. 4. Calculate each rental separately under the applicable rule. 5. Count financed properties and calculate required reserves. 6. Review property/project eligibility, LTV, credit and cash-out/seasoning. 7. Only then compare pricing and decide which loan structure best fits the investor's strategy.

This sequence prevents a strong-looking property from being qualified with the wrong income methodology. For investors with several rentals, one incorrectly treated property can change DTI, reserves, financed-property count or even product eligibility.