Keep the Goodyear House and Buy Across the West Valley: Fannie Mae Departing-Residence Rules When Both Homes Are in Arizona

People say Annie Mae. The agency is Fannie Mae. If both houses are in Maricopa County, this is not the two-state occupancy article. It is the conventional keep-and-rent rule in Selling Guide announcement SEL-2026-08 and topic B3-3.8-05. You are buying a new primary in Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Avondale, Buckeye, or Surprise and keeping the house you occupy now as a rental. Fannie Mae no longer uses a signed lease to count that departing home’s rent. Lenders must follow the new rental-income rules for applications dated on or after November 1, 2026. Many shops can use them sooner.

This is not a Mortgage and Credit Pro exclusive. John Werner (company NMLS #101770) will tell you whether West Valley HOA dues and market rent actually take the old payment out of the new debt-to-income ratio. Educational only. Not a commitment to lend. Start at mortgageandcreditpro.com.

Why West Valley HOA dues decide this before the lease ever did

Goodyear and Litchfield Park payments often include a community association that is not optional. Fannie Mae counts that HOA in PITIA on the departing house. Market rent after the 75 percent haircut has to clear principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and the association. A lease was never going to hide that math. The new rule just stops people from pretending a tenant signature would save the ratio.

If you are keeping a Vancouver, Washington house and buying in Goodyear, that is a two-state occupancy conversation John already wrote. This article is both homes in Arizona.

What actually changed

The updated departing-residence topic is dated September 2, 2026. For a primary that will be vacated and converted to a rental when the borrower buys a new primary, lease agreements are not permitted as the rent document. The lender documents market rent: a complete appraisal that includes market rents, Fannie Mae Form 1007 for the occupied unit, or market-analysis tools such as Zillow, Redfin, or MLS with at least three comparable rentals in the same market area when possible.

SEL-2026-08 also tightened short-term rental income and investment properties purchased close to the subject closing. A Palm Valley or Estrella nightly-rental plan is not this path.

Who this is for in the West Valley

This is for a household that will live in the next Arizona house. You are not using this rule to buy a vacant rental as the subject property.

• A Goodyear family buying up in Litchfield Park or Verrado and keeping the first house as a long-term rental.
• An Avondale or Tolleson owner moving west toward Buckeye and holding the first house.
• A Surprise or El Mirage household that can carry two payments only if market rent offsets the old HOA-heavy payment.
• Someone who was told they had to sell the current Goodyear house because “two HOAs will never qualify.”

John works Goodyear as the Arizona market and Vancouver, Washington as the other. Confirm which state each property is in before anyone copies a two-state note into a same-metro purchase.

How Fannie Mae counts the rent without a lease

Document a current housing payment on the departing home first. No current payment, no rental income. Then document monthly market rent. For a multi-unit departing property, market comps are limited to the unit you occupy, and tax returns are still required for units that already have tenants.

The 75 percent haircut plus HOA

Adjusted monthly net rental income starts at 75 percent of documented monthly gross rent. Subtract PITIA, including the association. West Valley market rent that looks fine on Zillow can still lose after HOA and the 25 percent vacancy haircut. That is Fannie Mae’s published method, not a John overlay.

Positive vs negative net rent

If the result is positive, rental income may offset the departing-house PITIA only. It does not become extra income for a larger new payment in Verrado or PebbleCreek. If the result is negative, the shortfall goes into DTI on the new loan.

Reserves if you have not managed a rental

Less than 12 months of property-management experience means six months of PITIA reserves on the vacated house, on top of multiple-financed-property reserves. First-time landlords in Goodyear should expect that conversation before they tour the next model home.

Form 1007 vs listing-site comps

Form 1007 is an appraiser rent schedule. Comps need three comparables, preferably in the same subdivision or project. John will not take the highest asking rent from a Facebook group in Estrella and call it market. The application has to match what Fannie Mae will accept.

What you still have to bring

Plan on the current mortgage statement, the HOA coupon or statement, taxes and insurance on the house you are leaving, a realistic rent set, reserves if you have not managed a rental for a year, and the usual income, asset, and credit documentation on the new primary. Also bring a management plan. Fannie Mae is counting market rent, not a promise that a neighbor will find someone while you are in San Diego for the summer.

Snowbird occupancy is a different test. If you still occupy the Goodyear house as a primary part of the year and the next house is a second home, this departing-residence topic is the wrong label. Tell John the real occupancy before anyone orders an appraisal.

When this is the wrong path

• The subject property is the rental. Buying an empty investment house in Avondale is a different rental-income topic or a DSCR conversation.
• One house is in Washington. Use the two-state occupancy map, not this article.
• You need FHA, VA, or USDA on the new house. Those guides have their own rental and occupancy rules.
• Market rent does not cover the old payment after HOA and the 75 percent haircut. Then the old house still counts.
• You wanted short-term rental income. SEL-2026-08 is more conservative on nightly rent. This path is standard market rent.
• You were counting on a family lease. Fannie Mae blocks leases on departing residences. A sweetheart lease is not a workaround.

What to do before November 1, and after

Fannie Mae encourages the new structure now and requires it for application dates on and after November 1, 2026. A fall West Valley contract that does not take the application until November is already on the new rule.

Bring John the address you would keep, the HOA amount, and the address you want to buy. He will run the 75 percent / PITIA / reserve check against B3-3.8-05, then tell you if conventional keep-and-rent, a sale, or a different program is the honest path.

Questions people ask

Do I need a signed lease to keep my Goodyear house and buy in Litchfield Park?

Not for Fannie Mae departing-residence rental income. The lender documents market rent. You still need a current housing payment, including HOA, and a full conventional application on the new house.

Does the HOA get ignored if rent is high?

No. HOA is part of PITIA. High asking rent that fails after the 75 percent step and the association still leaves a shortfall in DTI.

Can extra rent raise what I can spend on the new house?

No. Positive net rent may offset the departing payment only.

When should I call?

Before you write the next West Valley offer, or before you list the current house because someone said you need a tenant first. John Werner, Mortgage and Credit Pro, company NMLS #101770. mortgageandcreditpro.com. Education only. Not a commitment to lend.