A DSCR loan underwrites the asset, not you. If the rent covers the payment, the deal works — regardless of your personal debt-to-income ratio, how many properties you already own, or what your Schedule E looks like.
You’ve found a property that works on paper and a lender that won’t look past your debt-to-income ratio. Or you’ve hit Fannie Mae’s ten-property limit. Or you’re self-employed as well as an investor, so every conventional application turns into a document marathon.
DSCR removes all of that from the conversation. The underwriter compares the property’s market rent to its total monthly payment — principal, interest, taxes, insurance and any HOA — and divides one by the other. That number is the debt service coverage ratio. Above 1.0 and the property pays for itself. That’s the qualification.
Your personal income isn’t verified. Your DTI isn’t calculated. Tax returns aren’t required. What matters is credit, down payment, reserves and the rent.
General program guidelines as of September 2026. Guidelines vary by lender and change without notice.
This is not a commitment to lend. All loans are subject to credit approval, income verification and property appraisal.
No personal income calculation, so your other mortgages, your car and your student loans don't crowd out the deal.
Conventional financing caps you at ten. DSCR doesn't.
Standard, not an exception — bring the operating agreement and the EIN letter.
On the right program, with AirDNA or Rabbu comps or your own revenue history.
Pull equity out of a performing property and redeploy it. Most programs allow cash-out to 70–75% LTV.
No tax returns, no W-2s, no employment verification.
Clears the 1.0 minimum comfortably. Sixteen dollars a month of rent short of the 1.25 pricing tier — worth a conversation about a small rate buydown to get there.
Strong. STR-designated program, AirDNA comps as evidence, and the ratio is well inside the best pricing tier.
Qualifies. Tighter than ideal, so pricing reflects it — but it frees a 25% down payment for the next property.
Illustrations using September 2026 market assumptions, not offers. Your figures will differ.
Figures are estimates for illustration only and are not a loan offer, quote or commitment. Your actual terms will depend on a full review of your file.
Enter the rent and the payment. The ratio is the qualification.
This calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us or stored anywhere unless you choose to email yourself the results.
Figures are estimates for illustration only and are not a loan offer, quote or commitment. Your actual terms will depend on a full review of your file.
Environmental · 16:9
Denver. Wide, environmental, no people looking at the camera.
Metro Denver average asking rents were $1,758 in Q1 2026, down 3.4% year on year, with concessions at a record $180 a month and vacancy at a sixteen-year high after more than 70,000 new apartments in five years. Anyone selling you Denver DSCR on the strength of rent growth is not paying attention.
Where the numbers still work: single-family and small residential rentals bought at today’s softer prices, and short-term rentals in the mountain markets — Summit, Eagle and Garfield counties, where demand is real and 2026 loan limits run from $1.09M to $1.25M. We’d rather tell you that up front than write you a pre-approval for a deal that won’t pencil.
Apartment Association of Metro Denver, Q1 2026; FHFA 2026 loan limits.
1.0 is the standard minimum and means the rent exactly covers the payment. 1.25 is where the strongest rate and LTV combinations live. Around 40% of programs will consider 0.75–0.99 with compensating factors — more down, higher credit, more reserves.
Yes, on programs designed for it. Evidence is either your own trailing revenue or AirDNA / Rabbu comparables for the address. Seasonality gets factored in, so expect the underwritten figure to be lower than a peak-season month.
Yes, and most investors do. Bring the operating agreement, articles of organization and the EIN letter. Most programs require a personal guarantee from the members; a minority don’t. We’ll confirm which applies to your file before you apply.
There’s no property-count cap the way there is on conventional financing. Practically, each loan needs its own reserves, so the constraint is liquidity rather than a rule.
Most DSCR programs carry one — commonly a step-down over three to five years, sometimes a fixed percentage. Structures and availability vary by program and state. You’ll see the exact terms before you commit, and if you’re planning to sell or refinance inside the penalty window, say so early and we’ll price around it.
No. The average credit score across non-QM rate locks in July 2026 was 730, and cumulative losses on securitized non-QM since 2018 run at 3.6 basis points on $281 billion of issuance. It’s a different documentation method for creditworthy borrowers, not a weaker credit box.
Not for qualification. Credit, assets, reserves and the property’s rent drive the decision. Underwriting standards across DSCR programs are genuinely inconsistent right now and regulators have noticed, which is why we document a file properly the first time instead of hunting for the loosest guideline.
This is not a commitment to lend. All loans are subject to credit approval, income verification and property appraisal.
Direct line to Scott — answered evenings and weekends.
