// DSCR LENDING GUIDE
No jargon. No fluff. Plain-English guides for real estate investors who want to understand the math before they sign anything.
95% of DSCR loans are 30-year fixed. Here's what the hybrid ARM actually is, when it earns its place, and how to decode "5/6 ARM" before you sign anything.
One lot, two rental streams — if the ADU is permitted. Whether lenders count the value or the income comes down to a building permit and how well you've documented the lease.
Five-plus units changes the rules — tighter LTVs, higher credit floors, no first-timers. But the DSCR calculation formula is still a massive advantage over what commercial banks put you through.
DSCR lenders don't just underwrite your unit — they underwrite the building. The condo questionnaire, warrantable vs. non-warrantable, and the five things that actually kill these deals.
Seven things investors get wrong about DSCR loans — the 2008 comparison, the 1.25x floor myth, credit scores, vacant properties, and more. What the folklore gets wrong.
Nine stages, two parallel tracks, one appraisal that changes everything. What actually happens from first contact to funded — and where deals stall when borrowers aren't paying attention.
The lender's biggest nightmare isn't you missing a payment — it's the property burning down uninsured. What docs you need, how much coverage is required, and the mortgagee clause errors that send deals back to square one.
Most investors close in an LLC. Here's what that means for the paperwork stack — plus where trusts, partnerships, and corporations fit in, and the foreign registration issue that kills deals.
The appraised value isn't always the number. Seasoning, loan purpose, and listing history all affect which value lenders actually use to calculate LTV — and your loan amount.
The appraisal does two jobs in DSCR lending: sets your LTV and establishes market rent. Both numbers feed directly into qualification. Here's how the process works and what to do about it.
Two lanes, two rule sets. One gets you cash, the other fixes your rate. The $2,000 threshold between them affects pricing, seasoning, and what the lender puts you through.
DSCR rates are built in layers: a market base rate plus risk adjustments for FICO, LTV, and DSCR ratio. Here's how to read the stack and which levers are actually yours to pull.
Three structures, 50 states, one counterintuitive truth: the penalty isn't always the enemy. When to accept it, when to skip it, and how to run the breakeven math.
Buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. How DSCR loans turned a clever acronym into a real portfolio-scaling engine, and why conventional loans hit a wall after property four.
DSCR lending for STR properties works differently. Income factors, lender overlays, and what changes when your tenant checks out every three days.
FICO brackets, LTV caps, reserves, prepayment penalties. Everything lenders look at, with the actual numbers.
One qualifies you. The other qualifies the property. When each one wins, and the hybrid strategy most investors miss.
The formula, a worked example with real numbers, and the mistakes that trip up even experienced investors.
The property qualifies, not you. What that means, who it's for, and why your accountant's best work actually helps you here.