{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "dataset_id": "texas-residential-investor-decision-matrix-2026",
  "title": "2026 Texas Residential Investor Financing Decision Matrix",
  "description": "A source-reviewed decision matrix pairing conventional agency references with lender-specific verification questions for eligible one-to-four-unit residential properties.",
  "version": "2026.3",
  "published_date": "2026-09-01",
  "source_reviewed_date": "2026-09-01",
  "record_count": 9,
  "scope": "Educational planning for eligible one-to-four-unit residential properties in Texas. This dataset does not cover five-plus-unit, primarily commercial, land, or blanket multi-property financing.",
  "disclaimer": "This matrix is not an approval, commitment to lend, rate quote, or universal program guide. Agency rules, lender overlays, investor guidelines, property eligibility, pricing, reserves, title requirements, and underwriting decisions control the actual file.",
  "methodology": "Agency-reference text is reviewed against the linked Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHFA source materials. Lender-specific text is a verification checklist, not a representation of any lender program; confirm the selected lender's current written rules.",
  "landing_page_url": "https://kellibrooke.com/scenarios/investor-scaling/",
  "correction_policy_url": "https://kellibrooke.com/editorial-standards/",
  "license": {
    "name": "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
    "applies_to": "Kellibrooke's original compilation and wording only. Linked source material retains its own terms."
  },
  "fields": {
    "decision": "The residential investor planning question this row owns",
    "agency_reference": "A concise Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHFA reference; not a complete agency guide",
    "lender_specific_reference": "Variability to confirm under the selected lender or investor's current written rule",
    "facts_to_verify": "File facts needed before selecting a route",
    "source_ids": "Pipe-delimited identifiers that join to the sources array"
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "fannie-financed-properties",
      "publisher": "Fannie Mae",
      "title": "B2-2-03, Multiple Financed Properties for the Same Borrower",
      "source_version": "2025-11-05",
      "reviewed": "2026-09-01",
      "url": "https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b2-2-03/multiple-financed-properties-same-borrower"
    },
    {
      "id": "fannie-rental-income",
      "publisher": "Fannie Mae",
      "title": "B3-3.8-01, Rental Income",
      "source_version": "2025-10-08",
      "reviewed": "2026-09-01",
      "url": "https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b3-3.8-01/rental-income"
    },
    {
      "id": "fannie-reserves",
      "publisher": "Fannie Mae",
      "title": "B3-4.1-01, Minimum Reserve Requirements",
      "source_version": "2024-08-07",
      "reviewed": "2026-09-01",
      "url": "https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b3-4.1-01/minimum-reserve-requirements"
    },
    {
      "id": "freddie-rental-income",
      "publisher": "Freddie Mac",
      "title": "Section 5306.1, Rental income",
      "source_version": "Effective 2026-04-12",
      "reviewed": "2026-09-01",
      "url": "https://guide.freddiemac.com/app/servicing/section/5306.1"
    },
    {
      "id": "freddie-reserves",
      "publisher": "Freddie Mac",
      "title": "Section 5501.2, Reserves",
      "source_version": "Effective 2026-03-04",
      "reviewed": "2026-09-01",
      "url": "https://guide.freddiemac.com/app/servicing/section/5501.2"
    },
    {
      "id": "fhfa-conforming-limits-2026",
      "publisher": "Federal Housing Finance Agency",
      "title": "FHFA Announces Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026",
      "source_version": "2025-11-25",
      "reviewed": "2026-09-01",
      "url": "https://www.fhfa.gov/news/news-release/fhfa-announces-conforming-loan-limit-values-for-2026"
    }
  ],
  "rows": [
    {
      "id": "occupancy-property-scope",
      "decision": "Occupancy and property scope",
      "question": "Is the next property owner-occupied or investment-only, and is it one to four units?",
      "agency_reference": "Fannie Mae treats a one-to-four-unit investment property and an owner-occupied two-to-four-unit principal residence as different rental-income scenarios. Freddie Mac publishes separate rental-income rules for one-to-four-unit investment properties.",
      "lender_specific_reference": "Confirm whether the selected lender's current written DSCR or portfolio rules cover the proposed property, occupancy, and transaction. Kellibrooke's consulting scope is eligible one-to-four-unit residential property, not five-plus-unit or primarily commercial financing.",
      "facts_to_verify": "Occupancy, unit count, property type, intended use, and transaction type.",
      "source_ids": "fannie-rental-income|freddie-rental-income",
      "source_reviewed_date": "2026-09-01",
      "dataset_version": "2026.3"
    },
    {
      "id": "financed-property-count",
      "decision": "Financed-property count",
      "question": "Which financed properties count before the next acquisition?",
      "agency_reference": "Fannie Mae DU allows up to 10 financed properties when the subject loan is for a second home or investment property. The count generally includes financed one-to-four-unit residential properties for which a borrower is personally obligated, including a financed principal residence.",
      "lender_specific_reference": "That Fannie Mae count does not establish eligibility for a non-agency route. Confirm the selected lender's current written rules for total exposure, experience, credit, reserves, entity, and guarantors.",
      "facts_to_verify": "Every borrower, every financed one-to-four-unit property, personal mortgage obligations, the subject property, and applicable exclusions.",
      "source_ids": "fannie-financed-properties",
      "source_reviewed_date": "2026-09-01",
      "dataset_version": "2026.3"
    },
    {
      "id": "rental-income-evidence",
      "decision": "Rental-income evidence",
      "question": "Which rent source can support the file?",
      "agency_reference": "Fannie Mae generally uses tax returns when rental history exists and permits lease evidence in specified situations. When subject-property rental income is used to qualify, Form 1007 must support a one-unit property and Form 1025 must support a two-to-four-unit property.",
      "lender_specific_reference": "Confirm which rent evidence the selected lender's current written rule accepts, including whether it requires a lease, appraiser-supported rent, or eligible short-term-rental evidence. Do not assume acceptance.",
      "facts_to_verify": "Rental history, current leases, Schedule E or Form 8825, appraisal and rent-schedule requirements, and any interruption in rental history.",
      "source_ids": "fannie-rental-income|freddie-rental-income",
      "source_reviewed_date": "2026-09-01",
      "dataset_version": "2026.3"
    },
    {
      "id": "rental-income-treatment",
      "decision": "Rental-income treatment",
      "question": "How are multiple rental results combined?",
      "agency_reference": "Under Fannie Mae's method, each non-subject rental property's qualifying income or loss is calculated first, then the results are aggregated. Rental activity reported through a partnership or S corporation can require self-employment analysis.",
      "lender_specific_reference": "For a lender-specific DSCR screen, confirm the accepted rent, housing-expense measure, expense components, required ratio, and treatment of multiple properties under the selected lender's current written rule.",
      "facts_to_verify": "Gross rent, PITIA, tax-return treatment, ownership, business reporting, rental history, and the calculation required by the selected route.",
      "source_ids": "fannie-rental-income|freddie-rental-income",
      "source_reviewed_date": "2026-09-01",
      "dataset_version": "2026.3"
    },
    {
      "id": "borrower-income-path",
      "decision": "Borrower-income path",
      "question": "How will borrower income be evaluated for this route?",
      "agency_reference": "An agency loan evaluates borrower income and liabilities under the applicable underwriting rules. Fannie Mae generally uses Schedule E or Form 8825 for established rental activity, and rental income reported through a partnership or S corporation is evaluated as self-employment income.",
      "lender_specific_reference": "A lender-specific DSCR route may rely primarily on accepted property rent and housing expense instead of the same personal-income calculation, but the selected lender can still require credit, asset, reserve, entity, guarantor, and other file documentation. Do not treat DSCR as a no-document loan.",
      "facts_to_verify": "Income sources used to qualify, personal and business tax-return reporting, Schedule E, Form 8825, K-1s, leases, property cash flow, liabilities, assets, and lender-required documentation.",
      "source_ids": "fannie-rental-income",
      "source_reviewed_date": "2026-09-01",
      "dataset_version": "2026.3"
    },
    {
      "id": "portfolio-reserves",
      "decision": "Portfolio reserves",
      "question": "What liquidity remains after closing?",
      "agency_reference": "For a Fannie Mae DU investment-property transaction, the published baseline is six months of reserves for the subject property. Additional reserves for other financed properties use 2% for one to four financed properties, 4% for five to six, and 6% for seven to ten (DU only). The aggregate UPB excludes the subject property, principal residence, properties sold or pending sale, and accounts paid by closing. Fannie's published six-property example adds $13,801 (4% of $345,030) to $4,656 of subject-property reserves for $18,457 total; DU may require more.",
      "lender_specific_reference": "Confirm the selected lender's current written requirements for reserve amount, eligible assets, seasoning, and total exposure. Do not treat a property-level ratio as the portfolio liquidity review.",
      "facts_to_verify": "Funds to close, eligible liquid assets, subject-property PITIA, financed-property count, balances on applicable other financed properties, Guide exclusions, and lender-specific reserve rules.",
      "source_ids": "fannie-financed-properties|fannie-reserves|freddie-reserves",
      "source_reviewed_date": "2026-09-01",
      "dataset_version": "2026.3"
    },
    {
      "id": "loan-size-route",
      "decision": "Loan size and route",
      "question": "Does the requested loan amount fit the current conforming limit for the county and unit count?",
      "agency_reference": "FHFA sets conforming loan limits by calendar year, county, and unit count. The 2026 baseline for a one-unit property in most of the United States is $832,750; an original loan amount above the applicable limit cannot be acquired as a conforming loan and may require a jumbo or another lender-specific route.",
      "lender_specific_reference": "Jumbo, DSCR, and portfolio lenders set their own loan-size ranges, pricing adjustments, reserves, property rules, and total-exposure limits. Confirm the selected lender's current written rule instead of treating the conforming boundary as an approval line.",
      "facts_to_verify": "Property county, unit count, original loan amount, applicable calendar-year limit, appraised value, requested leverage, reserves, and lender exposure.",
      "source_ids": "fhfa-conforming-limits-2026",
      "source_reviewed_date": "2026-09-01",
      "dataset_version": "2026.3"
    },
    {
      "id": "entity-personal-obligation",
      "decision": "Entity and personal obligation",
      "question": "Who owns the property and who is personally obligated on the debt?",
      "agency_reference": "Fannie Mae's financed-property count includes covered one-to-four-unit properties when a borrower is personally obligated, even if a payment is excluded from debt-to-income. Its published examples separately address LLC-held mortgages without personal obligation.",
      "lender_specific_reference": "Confirm entity vesting, personal guaranty, title, and liability requirements under the selected lender's current written rule. Entity ownership alone does not answer underwriting or property-count questions.",
      "facts_to_verify": "Current vesting, borrowing entity, ownership percentage, personal guaranties, mortgage liability, title plan, and lender eligibility.",
      "source_ids": "fannie-financed-properties|fannie-rental-income",
      "source_reviewed_date": "2026-09-01",
      "dataset_version": "2026.3"
    },
    {
      "id": "route-selection",
      "decision": "Route selection",
      "question": "When should the next property use conventional, DSCR, or another residential route?",
      "agency_reference": "An agency path is not selected by property count alone. Rental documentation, borrower qualification, reserves, occupancy, property eligibility, and the applicable automated or manual underwriting result still control.",
      "lender_specific_reference": "Do not use a universal switch point for DSCR or portfolio financing. Compare accepted rent, borrower documentation, credit, reserves, title or entity structure, property, transaction, pricing, and applicable terms under the selected lender's current written rule.",
      "facts_to_verify": "Complete property schedule, balances and payments, rent evidence, assets and reserves, title or entity documents, borrower income, liabilities, and transaction goals.",
      "source_ids": "fannie-financed-properties|fannie-rental-income|fannie-reserves|freddie-rental-income|freddie-reserves",
      "source_reviewed_date": "2026-09-01",
      "dataset_version": "2026.3"
    }
  ]
}