Two offers on a triplex. Which one actually closes?
Usually the one whose loan fits the triplex, which is not always the higher one. You can find out before your seller chooses. Ask each buyer, through their agent, to have the lender confirm the loan type, the rent it counts, and whether cash after closing is verified.
WHAT MOST PEOPLE ARE NEVER TOLD
FHA requires the whole payment on a triplex to fit inside three quarters, at most, of the appraiser's rent. So a higher price can make an FHA offer weaker: the payment goes up and the rent stays put.
Put the same four questions to each offer and compare the answers.
- Which loan. FHA runs its rent test on three and four units. Ask to see that math at the offer price, with rents the lender can support.
- Which rent. FHA's rent test uses the appraiser's figure alone. For the buyer's income FHA counts the lower of lease and appraiser, and Fannie Mae lets the lender do the same.
- Cash after closing. Fannie Mae's system looks for six months of payments in reserve on a two-to-four unit home. FHA looks for three on a triplex.
- Move-in. Which unit the buyer takes, and that it will be empty in time.
A cash investor brings no loan to check, which is why a lower cash offer sometimes wins.
After your seller accepts, see that every signed amendment reaches the buyer's lender that day. An FHA lender must confirm the contract and every addendum are signed.
GOOD TO KNOW
Tell your seller that on any financed offer the appraiser sets value and rent after they accept, and neither agent controls that. Compare both buyers on the four answers before your seller chooses.
Yours is a little different. They all are.
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WHERE THIS COMES FROM
- HUD Handbook 4000.1, FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (last revised 8/12/2026): II.A.1.b.iv(B)(3)(c) rent test; II.A.4.c.xii(I) rental income; II.A.4.d.i(C) reserves; II.A.7.b sales contract and addenda
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.8-02, Rental Income from the Subject Property (09/02/2026)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.1-01, Minimum Reserve Requirements (08/07/2024)
- Series Homes analysis of 2025 HMDA data: denials as a share of applications lenders decided (FFIEC HMDA Data Browser)
Researched and written by Series Homes. Checked against its sources on . Lending rules change. This page is general information, not a loan offer or legal or tax advice.