Money and Risk | Financing
Financing a Duplex, Triplex or Fourplex in Atlanta: FHA and Fannie Mae Rules
A building with two to four homes is financed with a home mortgage, under the same federal rule books that cover a single house. Those rule books change at each unit count. This page gives the 2026 loan limits for the two counties Atlanta lies in, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) rules for owners who live in the building, the Fannie Mae rules on counting rent, and how each one treats an accessory dwelling unit (ADU). It prints no interest rates and no monthly payment figures. VanPlex does not lend or broker loans in the United States, so use this page to prepare questions for a lender.
Financing two to four units in six facts
- The 2026 conforming loan limits for Fulton County and DeKalb County, Georgia are $832,750 for one unit, $1,066,250 for two units, $1,288,800 for three units and $1,601,750 for four units. Source: FHFA, 2026 county loan limit file
- On an FHA loan, "at least one Borrower must occupy the Property within 60 Days of signing the security instrument and intend to continue occupancy for at least one year." Source: HUD Handbook 4000.1
- FHA's self-sufficiency rule: "The PITI divided by the monthly Net Self-Sufficiency Rental Income may not exceed 100 percent for three- to four-unit Properties." Source: HUD Handbook 4000.1
- On a purchase, Fannie Mae has the lender "multiply monthly gross rent by 75% for the net rental income amount, then subtract the PITIA of the subject property." Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.8-02
- Fannie Mae: "Only one ADU is permitted on the parcel of the primary one-unit dwelling. ADUs are not permitted with a two- to four-unit dwelling." Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-3-04
- FHA counts a property with two dwelling units and one accessory dwelling unit, or three dwelling units and one accessory dwelling unit, as a three- to four-unit property. Source: HUD Handbook 4000.1
2026 Conforming Loan Limits in Fulton and DeKalb Counties
A conforming loan limit is the largest loan that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will acquire. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sets the limits each year and publishes one row per county. The limit rises with the number of units in the building.
| Units in the building | 2026 conforming loan limit |
|---|---|
| One unit | $832,750 |
| Two units | $1,066,250 |
| Three units | $1,288,800 |
| Four units | $1,601,750 |
Source: FHFA, Conforming Loan Limits for Mortgages Acquired in Calendar Year 2026 (county file), rows for Fulton County and DeKalb County, Georgia. The rows for Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton counties carry the same four figures.
These are the national baseline values. FHFA's news release of November 25, 2025 says: "In most of the United States, the 2026 CLL value for one-unit properties will be $832,750, an increase of $26,250 from 2025." The release explains that the baseline moves with the average US home price, which rose 3.26 percent between the third quarters of 2024 and 2025. Higher limits apply in areas where 115 percent of the local median home value exceeds the baseline. The Atlanta counties are listed at the baseline.
The limit is on the loan, and the price of the building can be higher. A loan above the limit is outside what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will acquire. FHA sets its own limits by county. VanPlex did not read FHA's 2026 limits for Fulton or DeKalb, so ask an FHA-approved lender for them.
FHA and Fannie Mae, Rule by Rule
| Topic | FHA (HUD Handbook 4000.1) | Fannie Mae (Selling Guide) |
|---|---|---|
| Who must live there | At least one borrower must move in within 60 days of signing and intend to stay at least one year. Investment properties are not eligible, with exceptions for HUD-approved nonprofits and government bodies. | The rental income topic covers two- to four-unit principal residences and one- to four-unit investment properties. |
| Borrower's own money | A Minimum Required Investment of at least 3.5 percent of the Adjusted Value. | Not read for this guide. Ask a lender. |
| Rent that counts on a purchase | With limited or no rental history on the property: 75 percent of the lesser of the appraiser's fair market rent or the rent in the lease. | Monthly gross rent x 75 percent, minus the full housing payment (PITIA). |
| Extra test at three and four units | Self-sufficiency: the housing payment (PITI) may not exceed 100 percent of Net Self-Sufficiency Rental Income. | None stated in the two topics read. |
| Cash reserves | Three months of PITI after closing for a three- to four-unit property. | Not read for this guide. Ask a lender. |
| Landlord experience | Not stated in the sections read. | 12 months or more of rental property management experience: the full positive result may be used. Less than 12 months: a positive result may only offset the housing payment. |
| Appraisal form for rent | Fannie Mae Form 1025 / Freddie Mac Form 72, the Small Residential Income Property Appraisal Report, for two to four units. | Form 1007 (Single-Family Comparable Rent Schedule) or Form 1025, as applicable. |
| Accessory dwelling unit (ADU) | One unit plus one ADU stays a one-unit property. Two or three units plus an ADU is a three- to four-unit property. | One ADU with a one-unit home only. No ADU with a two- to four-unit dwelling. |
Sources: HUD Handbook 4000.1, last revised August 12, 2026; Fannie Mae Selling Guide topics B3-3.8-02 (dated September 2, 2026) and B2-3-04 (dated October 8, 2025), in the guide published October 7, 2026. "Not read" marks a rule that exists but was not opened for this guide.
Two abbreviations appear in the table. PITI is the monthly housing payment: principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Fannie Mae writes PITIA, which adds association dues. Both rule books are written for lenders, and they call the lender the Mortgagee (FHA) or the lender (Fannie Mae).
FHA: Rules for an Owner Who Lives in the Building
FHA insures loans made by approved lenders. Its rules are in HUD Handbook 4000.1, last revised August 12, 2026. For a two- to four-unit building, these four rules are the main ones.
1. You must live there
"At least one Borrower must occupy the Property within 60 Days of signing the security instrument and intend to continue occupancy for at least one year." The handbook defines a Principal Residence as the dwelling where the borrower keeps a permanent home and typically lives for the majority of the calendar year, and says "a person may have only one Principal Residence at any one time." A property the borrower does not occupy is an Investment Property, and "Investment Properties are not eligible for FHA insurance," with exceptions for HUD-approved nonprofit borrowers, government agencies and one HUD sales program.
2. A minimum investment of 3.5 percent
For FHA to insure the maximum mortgage amount, "the Borrower must make a Minimum Required Investment (MRI) of at least 3.5 percent of the Adjusted Value." The same percentage applies at one, two, three and four units. Adjusted Value is the handbook's term for the value the percentage is applied to. Ask your lender how it is worked out for your purchase.
3. The self-sufficiency test at three and four units
This test applies at three and four units. The handbook's two-unit section has no such test. The handbook says: "The PITI divided by the monthly Net Self-Sufficiency Rental Income may not exceed 100 percent for three- to four-unit Properties." The income figure is calculated "by using the Appraiser's estimate of fair market rent from all units, including the unit the Borrower chooses for occupancy, and subtracting the greater of the Appraiser's estimate for vacancies and maintenance, or 25 percent of the fair market rent."
In plain words: take the rent the appraiser says all the homes could earn, including yours. Remove at least a quarter of it. What is left must cover the whole monthly payment. Because at least 25 percent is always removed, the payment can be no more than 75 percent of the appraiser's total fair market rent. The test uses the building's rent alone, whatever the borrower earns.
Three- to four-unit properties also need cash left over after closing. "The Mortgagee must verify and document Reserves equivalent to three months' PITI after closing for three- to four-unit Properties." Reserves are the borrower's verified liquid assets minus the funds needed to close. Borrowed funds and equity in another property do not count.
4. Rent from the other homes can count as income
The handbook says rental income from the property being bought "may be considered Effective Income when the Property is or will be a one-unit dwelling with an ADU, a two- to four-unit dwelling, or an acceptable one- to four-unit Investment Property." Effective Income is FHA's term for income that counts toward qualifying. Where the borrower has no rental history on the property, the lender documents the rent with "an appraisal showing fair market rent" on Fannie Mae Form 1025 / Freddie Mac Form 72 "and, if available, the prospective leases." The amount counted is "75 percent of the lesser of" the fair market rent reported by the appraiser or the rent in the lease.
One more FHA form affects how the building may be rented. The lender must obtain form HUD-92561, the "Borrower's Contract with Respect to Hotel and Transient Use of Property," for each mortgage on a one-unit home with an ADU or on a two- to four-unit dwelling. The handbook's standard in that section reads: "The Mortgagee must obtain the Borrower's agreement that Investment Properties using FHA-insured financing will not be used for hotel or transient purposes, or otherwise rented for periods of less than 30 Days." Atlanta's Short Term Rental Ordinance defines a short-term rental as a stay "not to exceed 30 consecutive days." Raise this with your lender before you plan short stays in an FHA-financed building.
Fannie Mae: How Rent From the Property Is Counted
Fannie Mae buys loans from lenders, and its Selling Guide sets what those loans must look like. Topic B3-3.8-02, Rental Income from the Subject Property, covers "a one- to four-unit subject property." Three property types are eligible for rental income: "two-to four-unit principal residences," "one-to four-unit investment property," and a "one-unit Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) allowed with a one-unit primary residence only."
On a purchase, the lender obtains a Single-Family Comparable Rent Schedule (Form 1007) or a Small Residential Income Property Appraisal Report (Form 1025), as applicable, plus "a copy of the fully executed lease agreement(s) when a lease is being transferred to the borrower." The guide then gives a two-line calculation:
Net rental income, minus PITIA = adjusted net rental income (ANRI)
What the lender does with the result depends on the borrower's history as a landlord:
- 12 months or more of rental property management experience. "If ANRI is positive, the lender may use the full amount in qualifying."
- Less than 12 months. "If ANRI is positive, the lender may use the rental income to offset the PITIA only."
- Either case. "If ANRI is negative, the lender must include the amount in the DTI ratio." The DTI ratio is the debt-to-income ratio, the share of income that goes to debt payments.
The guide adds a condition: "The lender must document the borrower's current housing payment to use any rental income from the subject property in qualifying." If the market rent on the appraiser's form does not support the rent in a lease, the lender must explain the difference in writing or use the lesser amount.
This guide did not read Fannie Mae's rules on down payment, credit or reserves for two- to four-unit buildings, and it did not open Freddie Mac's guide. Ask a lender for those.
How an ADU Changes the Loan Category
Zoning decides whether a second or third home may be built. The lender's rule book decides what kind of property it is for the loan. The two can disagree, and the table shows where.
| What is on the lot | FHA category | Fannie Mae category |
|---|---|---|
| House plus one detached ADU (allowed in Atlanta in R-4, R-4A and R-5) | One-unit property with an ADU | One-unit dwelling with an ADU, if the unit meets Fannie Mae's ADU requirements |
| Duplex (allowed in Atlanta in R-5) | Two-unit property | Two-unit property |
| Duplex plus an ADU (Decatur's code allows an ADU with a duplex) | Three- to four-unit property. The self-sufficiency test applies. | "ADUs are not permitted with a two- to four-unit dwelling." |
| Triplex or fourplex (Atlanta RG, R-LC or MR zoning; a Decatur walk up flat) | Three- to four-unit property. The self-sufficiency test applies. | Three- or four-unit property |
Sources: HUD Handbook 4000.1 and Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-3-04. Zoning notes come from the Atlanta Zoning Ordinance and the Decatur Unified Development Ordinance, Article 6.
FHA's definitions are short. A one-unit property is "a Single Family residential Property with a single Dwelling Unit, or with a single Dwelling Unit and a single ADU." A three- to four-unit property includes one "with two individual Dwelling Units and one ADU or three individual Dwelling Units and one ADU." So a house with a backyard ADU stays a one-unit property, and a duplex with an ADU moves into the three- to four-unit group, where the self-sufficiency test and the three months of reserves apply.
Fannie Mae's topic B2-3-04 is stricter about what an ADU can be attached to: "ADUs are not permitted with a two- to four-unit dwelling." For a one-unit home, the ADU "must be subordinate in size to the primary dwelling" and must have its own means of entry and exit, kitchen, sleeping area, bathing area and bathroom facilities. The kitchen needs cabinets, a countertop, a sink with running water, and a stove or stove hookup.
The guide also says how an appraiser tells an ADU from a second unit. Whether a property is "a one-unit property with an ADU or a two- to four-unit property will be based on the characteristics of the property, which may include, but are not limited to, the existence of separate utility meter(s), a unique postal address, and whether the unit can be legally rented." On zoning it says: "An ADU should always be considered legal if it is allowed under the current zoning code for the subject property." In Atlanta's R districts, the code allows a detached unit of up to 750 square feet on an R-4, R-4A or R-5 lot. The Atlanta ADU page gives the full rule.
Rent from an ADU is capped under both rule books. Fannie Mae allows rental income "from one existing ADU" only, on a purchase or limited cash-out refinance, and limits it "to 30% of the total qualifying income." FHA says ADU rental income used as Effective Income "must not exceed 30 percent of the total monthly Effective Income used to qualify the Borrower," and asks for two months of PITI in reserves when that income is used.
Georgia and Atlanta Facts That Affect a Loan Application
Other pages of this guide cover facts that affect a loan application for a small rental building.
- Legal use. A duplex is a permitted use in Atlanta's R-5 district. A triplex or fourplex needs RG, R-LC or MR zoning. See the duplex, triplex and fourplex page.
- Property tax, the T in PITI. Georgia taxes 40 percent of value, and a rental home receives no homestead exemption. See the property tax page.
- Leases and deposits. Georgia caps security deposits at two months' rent for leases signed or renewed on or after July 1, 2024. See the landlord rules page.
- Owners outside Georgia. Under HB 399 (2025), a landlord who does not live in Georgia and owns or operates single-family or duplex rentals in the state must employ a licensed broker.
- How many get built. The US Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey for 2025 counts 78 two-unit buildings and 64 buildings of three or four units authorized in the City of Atlanta.
What to Confirm With a Lender
This page covers the parts of three federal documents that VanPlex read. A lender can tell you the rest. Take these questions to an FHA-approved lender and to a lender that sells loans to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
- What are FHA's 2026 loan limits for two, three and four units in my county?
- What down payment, credit score and reserves do you require for a two- to four-unit purchase under Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac rules?
- For a three- or four-unit building, will the appraiser's fair market rent pass the FHA self-sufficiency test at my price?
- How will you classify my building if it has an ADU, and will you count the ADU rent?
- Do I have 12 months of rental property management experience under your reading of the Fannie Mae rule?
- What current rates and fees apply? This guide prints none.
- How do you finance new construction of a duplex to fourplex? Construction loans were not researched for this guide.
State programs for buyers were not researched either. This page is general information. A licensed loan officer can apply the rules to your income and your building.
Best For
- ✓ A buyer who will live in one home of a duplex: FHA requires occupancy within 60 days, and its two-unit section has no self-sufficiency test.
- ✓ A borrower with 12 months or more of rental property management experience, who may use the full positive rental result under Fannie Mae rules.
- ✓ A house with one legal ADU, which both rule books treat as a one-unit property.
Usually Fails When
- ✕ A three- or four-unit building whose monthly payment is more than 75 percent of the appraiser's total fair market rent. It cannot pass the FHA test.
- ✕ An investor who will not live in the building applies for an FHA loan.
- ✕ A duplex with an ADU is presented to a Fannie Mae lender as a duplex plus ADU. The guide does not permit an ADU with a two- to four-unit dwelling.
What To Verify Before Spending Money
- → The loan amount against the 2026 limit for your unit count: $1,066,250, $1,288,800 or $1,601,750.
- → Reserves of three months of PITI after closing for an FHA loan on three or four units.
- → How the appraiser and lender will classify any ADU on the lot.
Where to Go Next
Related on VanPlex: the Atlanta multiplex guide overview, financing 2 to 4 units in Texas and financing 2 to 4 units in California.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I buy a fourplex in Atlanta with an FHA loan?
What is the FHA self-sufficiency test for a triplex or fourplex?
Do I have to live in the property with an FHA loan?
What is the minimum down payment on an FHA duplex?
What is the 2026 conforming loan limit for a duplex in Fulton County?
What is the loan limit for a fourplex in Atlanta in 2026?
Can rent from the other units count toward my income on a duplex loan?
How much of the rent does Fannie Mae count?
Does Fannie Mae allow an ADU on a duplex?
Does FHA count an ADU as a unit?
Do I need landlord experience to count rental income with Fannie Mae?
What appraisal form is used for a 2 to 4 unit property?
Can I use an FHA-financed duplex in Atlanta for short-term rentals?
Official sources (checked October 2026)
Planning a multiplex in Atlanta?
VanPlex builds multiplexes and models lots in British Columbia, Canada. We do not build, lend, or broker in Georgia yet. Join the Atlanta list and we will tell you when that changes.