Tag Archive for: DSCR loans

The $1.8 Million Dollar Mistake: DSCR Loan Interest Rates

DSCR loan interest rates vary like crazy. Here’s exactly how to avoid a costly mistake.

DSCR loans are unlike any other loan out there.

Traditional loans are standard – every lender will have the same interest rates, terms, points, and closing costs. There is one system, one set of brackets that decides loan prices, and one approval process.

Not so with DSCR loan interest rates and other terms. This style of loan is the Wild West of underwriting.

With so much variance between DSCR loans, it’s more important than usual to shop between lenders. Let’s go over the $1.8 million mistake some investors make with DSCR loan interest rates.

Current DSCR Loan Interest Rates

We’d like to share a couple of examples we see in the DSCR loan world.

As a mortgage broker, we have a program that allows us to look at different rates from different companies. Every day, 10 to 15 different lenders put their rates on this search engine.

We search the same information daily to get a picture of the rates on these loans. We put the same:

  • Credit score
  • Debt service coverage ratio
  • Loan-to-value

Yet every lender offers a different rate. On the same 30-year DSCR loan, interest rates have looked like this:

  • The best: 7.04%
  • The worst: 9.46%
  • The average: 7.9% – 8.25%

These differences are not based on credit score, experience, property size or type, or debt ratio. These are the options for the same person calling around for the same deal. They could find anywhere between 7.04% and 9.46% – all depending on the lender.

The DSCR loan market is extremely segmented. And that is why it’s vital to shop around.

We want to break down the difference in DSCR loan interest rates for you. How much money do you lose on the worst DSCR interest rate vs the best?

How Much Different Interest Rates Cost You

Let’s say we have a $300,000 deal we want a DSCR loan for. We’ll look at 3 common interest rates: the high end (9.46%), the low end (7.04%), and the average (7.99%).

In this example, we have the same credit score, same rent income, same property expenses, and the same loan amount. These interest rate differences are purely about the lenders we’re using.

Low-End DSCR Interest Rates

With the lowest available rate, 7.04%, on a $300k, 30-year loan, payments are $2,003.

At the exact same time, with the exact same parameters, a 7.99% interest rate (average range) has payments of $2,199.

So, this is a difference of $195. Doesn’t seem like a big deal? If your rent is $2,100, a lower rate could mean the difference between positive cash flow and negative – or qualifying for the DSCR loan or not.

High-End DSCR Interest Rates

What’s this comparison at the other extreme?

Lenders with higher DSCR loan interest rates are usually the ones who take advantage of the segmented nature of this market. They raise their rates high, then raise their marketing budget too. They push their product hard to be the first option borrowers see; when they don’t shop around, they’ll settle for the higher rate.

And with this higher rate, a 9.46%, your monthly payment would be $2,513. That’s $509 more per month than the lender with the 7.04% rate!

All for the same property, same LTV, same credit score, but different lender.

Impact on Real Estate Investors

The monthly cash flow difference from DSCR loan interest rates will hurt everyone’s pockets. However, it’s especially rough for investors. What happens if you have three properties? Five? Ten?

If you got stuck with a 7.99% rate for all of your investments (rather than 7.04%), that’s $70k extra in interest over the life of the loan. How does that multiply with more investment properties?

  • 3 properties → $210k extra in interest
  • 5 properties → $350k extra in interest
  • 10 properties → $700k extra in interest

Let’s make the same comparison with the higher-end interest rate of 9.46% compared to the low-end 7.04%. Over the life of the loans you’d be paying:

  • 3 properties → $550k extra in interest
  • 5 properties → $917k extra in interest
  • 10 properties → $1.8M extra in interest

That money is all additional interest that could have been avoided. It’s going into the bankers’ pockets because you didn’t shop around for a better rate that’s easily available.

But what exactly do we mean when we say shop around?

How to Shop Around for DSCR Loan Interest Rates

The spreads on DSCR loans are large. But shopping around for any large purchase is no fun.

When you’re talking with any sort of salesperson, it’s nerve-wracking to not know whether they have your best interest in mind. What if you don’t know what questions to ask to get the right information? What if they try to take advantage of you?

We want to give you a couple of questions to ask to get the information you need to make an informed decision on your DSCR loans.

Questions to Ask DSCR Lenders

Firstly, a piece of advice: if a company won’t quote you a general range in a simple phone call, then keep calling. Find the ones that will.

Secondly, prepare all of your information ahead of time, and be sure to give every lender the same information. You’ll want to have the following information ready before you contact anyone:

  • LTV
  • Credit score
  • Is it a purchase or refinance?
  • Zip code of the property
  • Type of property (single-family, duplex, etc)
  • Rent (or estimated rent)

Next, you’ll want to have a set of questions to ask each lender. Even if you don’t have the property yet, coming with a specific example gives you an idea of who the good lenders are.

What to ask DSCR loan lenders:

  • What interest rate could I get?
  • Is there a prepay penalty? How long is it and how much? (The pricing of a 5-year prepay will always be better than a shorter-term prepay. But if you know you’ll want to sell the property within three years, you’ll need to keep a shorter prepay in mind).
  • What are your closing costs?
  • What’s your appraisal process for underwriting?
  • Is this a 30-year product? 40-year? Interest-only?

How to Analyze the Price of Different Lenders

Now, once you have all the information and numbers from your different lenders, you have to make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. One lender may have a lower interest rate but an extra 1-2 points.

What’s important is the final number you’ll have to pay. You can download our free analyzer here for an easy way to figure that out.

We want to get you the lowest rate to keep your investment business turning. Rates have been fluctuating like crazy, though. 

If you want a regular report on conventional and DSCR loan interest rates, LTVs, credit requirements, and more, ask us about it at Info@HardMoneyMike.com.

Happy Investing.

What To Do When Your Flip Is Stuck on the Market

It’s all too common in times like these – your flip is stuck on the market. Here are your options to save your money.

You got a great deal on a property a couple months ago. You worked hard to fix up the house fast. And now… it’s not selling.

This problem is happening to investors daily. We’re getting a lot of calls from our clients (and other people’s clients!) asking for help.

So, what do you do with a sticky flip?

Your Options When Your Flip Is Stuck on the Market

Obviously, the ideal goal with a flip is to sell at a profit, quickly. That may not be possible under current conditions. If your flip is stuck on the market, you might need to strategize a different exit plan.

Your main options are to:

  1. Keep dropping the price until it sells. Cut your losses and just get rid of the property.
  2. Refinance your flip’s loan. Make your lender happy, but keep the house on the market to try to salvage some profit.
  3. Convert the flip into a rental. Refinance your flip, then hold onto the property for a couple more years, until a good market returns. You can keep a tenant and get some rent income in the meantime.

Which option is right for you? That depends on your goals, willingness to rent, and financial situation. Let’s go over some of these options in detail to help you decide.

First Step in Converting a Flip to a Rental

First of all, if you decide you’d rather turn the flip into a rental, stop lowering the market price immediately.

You can’t drag out this decision, lowering the price “just in case” while exploring rental options.

When you refinance your fix-and-flip, the appraiser looks at the market history. They see the last price the house was listed for. They have to base their appraisal off that number, regardless of whether the house sold or not.

If the last listed price is lower than what they would have appraised the house for… they still have to go with the listed number.

So every time you drop the price, it lowers your potential appraisal. This directly hurts your loan-to-value on a refinance.

Loan Options for Your Flip Stuck on the Market

Once you’ve made the (quick) decision to refinance the property, what are your options?

Typically, you’d go to a bank to get a conforming or traditional loan. But banks are slow, and this refinance needs to happen quickly. Also, with money tightening, bank loans are harder to get than ever.

Here are 3 other options we’d steer you toward:

1. DSCR Loans

The DSCR loan is the easiest, fastest way to get a longer-term rental loan. The core requirements for most DSCR loans are:

  • A good credit score – 680 minimum, with a higher score meaning the better the rates and terms.
  • Rent income – If your rent covers your monthly payments on the loan transaction, you’ll qualify. Some DSCR products will still take you if you lose up to 25% on the loan payment with rent.

If you decide you want to turn your flip into a rental, a DSCR loan should be the first option you consider.

Beware the Prepayment Penalty

All DSCR loans have a prepayment penalty. The standard timeframe is 3 or 5 years. The longer the term for your prepayment penalty, the better the rate.

Prepay penalties are like exit fees. For example, if your term is 5 years, and you decide to pay off the loan during year 3, they’ll charge you 3% of the loan as an exit fee.

2. Bridge Loans

If your flip is stuck on the market, but you want a short-term refinance, then bridge loans could be the better option.

Bridge loans typically last about 1 to 2 years. There are a couple directions you could go with a loan like this:

  • You can keep the house on the market and just use the bridge loan to get out of your original flip loan.
  • You can convert it to a short-term rental (think Airbnb) to bring in some cash flow.
  • You can turn it into a traditional rental while you wait out the market.

Bridge loans are good because they’re fast, interest-only, and have no prepay penalty. The downside of bridge loans is that they’re limited to 70% of the value of the home. Plus, they tend to have higher interest rates.

If your flip is stuck on the market for too long, your original lender will start asking for their money back – potentially raising rates or threatening foreclosure. A bridge loan is a great exit.

DSCR vs Bridge Loan to Refinance Out of a Fix-and-Flip

When deciding whether to go with a DSCR loan or bridge loan, you should consider the “tipping point.” Bridge loans have 2% – 4% higher annual rates. DSCR loans have a prepayment penalty.

Depending on how long you want to keep the loan on the house decides which type of loan will be cheaper for you. This tipping point usually lies somewhere between the 14th and 17th month of a DSCR loan. That’s when the pre-pay fee becomes cheaper than the rates on the bridge loan.

3. Real OPM

Lastly, real OPM is always the ideal funding source to get you out of difficult situations.

Real OPM is real people – family, friends, folks in local real estate groups – who want to put their money in a safe place with an easy return.

An OPM lender can get a 6% to 7% rate of return lending to you over a 2% or 3% rate keeping their money in a bank. You can use OPM to pay back your original lender  and free you up to make the best decision for your flip stuck on the market.

OPM is win-win.

More Help for a Flip Stuck on the Market

We’d be glad to help you find the best loan for your needs.

Reach out now! Rates are only going to rise, and now is the perfect time to get prepared for a market with more opportunities.

Email us at Mike@HardMoneyMike.com.

Happy Investing.

Text: "Using a DSCR Loan for Airbnb Investing"

Airbnb Investing with a DSCR Loan

Can you use a DSCR loan for investing in an Airbnb?

Short answer: yes. However, you may come across a few obstacles.

Using Standard Rental Rates for DSCR Loans

Typically, to refinance an Airbnb, a lender requires 2 years’ history of rents and expenses for the property.

If you can’t provide that, a DSCR loan could be an option for your short-term rental.

But to get the DSCR loan, you need to use the standard rental rates for a standard rental property in that area. Without a longer history, you can’t use your Airbnb rates as the income for the property.

This can be a major hurdle.

A property that’s successful with short-term rentals (Airbnb, VRBO, etc.), probably makes more money than a standard monthly rental in the same area. In fact, the monthly income from an Airbnb can be 3-4x the standard rents in an area.

But a DSCR will require you to use the number for standard rents. So it’s possible that even though your short-term rental is cash-flowing, it might not qualify for a DSCR loan.

Lenders and Airbnb Investing

DSCR loans vary from lender to lender. Three-quarters of DSCR lenders will be open to loaning for Airbnb properties. The other quarter will want nothing to do with it.

Some lenders look at Airbnb as a riskier investment. Cash-flow has the potential to be higher, but there are a lot of moving parts. Also, some municipalities put restrictions on short-term rentals, making them a more unpredictable investment in lenders’ eyes.

It’s still worthwhile to research a DSCR loan for investing in your Airbnb. You should always shop around – you’re bound to find the right lender with the right loan for your project.

Read the full article here.

Watch the video here:

Text: "Best Loans for Airbnb Investing"

What Are the Best Loans for Airbnb Investing?

Which loans and terms are best for Airbnb investing? What should you look for?

Unfortunately, there’s no one “best loan” for investing in Airbnbs. Your loan options for short-term rental investments will come down to your credit, your income, and your experience.

Airbnb loans come in all shapes and sizes – 30-year fixed mortgages, adjustables, non-QM loans, interest-only, and more.

You’ll have to talk to lenders to see what’s out there. Here are a few things to keep in mind while you’re shopping around.

Down Payments

Firstly, every loan comes with different down payment requirements. These requirements are based on your situation, credit, income, location, size of property, and more.

Some Airbnb loans will only require 20% down, some up to 30%. If you’re not using BRRRR, you have to expect to put this extra money into the property.

Is that something you can afford? Will you be able to find alternative ways to fund that extra 20-30%?

Pre-pay Penalties

Secondly, most non-traditional loans and DSCR loans will come with pre-pay penalties.

You’ll agree to keep the loan on the property for, say, five years. So, if something comes up after two years and you sell, you’ll have to pay the lender an up to 5% penalty.

Getting a loan with a pre-pay can get you a better rate. But it becomes an expensive detail if you end up selling early.

Do you know how long you’ll keep the house? Is the rate on the loan with the pre-pay penalty worth it?

How to Get the Best Terms for Airbnb Loans

People get excited to invest in Airbnbs, but they fail to get sorted on the money side. You’ll have to search for the best terms.

The easiest way to improve your terms is to have the income, and, more importantly, the credit score that lenders are looking for.

Good terms on your loans lower your cost of funds and increase your leverage. It leaves more money in your pocket and less to the bank. Good terms are vital if you want to expand your Airbnb and other investments into a business.

Read the full article here.

Watch the video here:

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Does a DSCR Loan Require a Down Payment?

What is the down payment requirement for DSCR loans? What does refinancing look like with this type of loan?

Down Payments for Different Types of Properties

Your typical DSCR loan will require 20% down, but as interest rates are rising, you may see that that tighten up to 25%. So, if you’re buying a $100,000 property, they’ll loan you 80%, or $80,000. But you’ll have to come up with the remaining $20,000.

If you go from a single-family to a four-plex (some DSCR loans work for up to six-plexes!), you may be required to put in more like 25-30%. As your “doors” go up, so does your down payment.

But always check around! DSCR loans are the wild west. You’ll have lots of choices, every lender likes having slightly different requirements.

Refinancing with a DSCR Loan

For a rate and term refinance, a DSCR loan will typically cover 75%.

So you’ll need 25% equity in the property on a DSCR loan to do rate and term.

Cash out refinancing is a little tighter. Most are at 70%, but you could find outliers between 65 and 80% (but the higher ones will raise your interest 2 or 3 points).

For true, good DSCR loans, you’ll be maxed out at 75% for rate and term, 70% for cash out.

Let’s say you’re looking at a property that’s worth $100,000. On the cash out, you can only get $70,000, and you’ll need $30,000 in equity. For rate and term, the max loaned is $75,000.

At the end of the day, it’s impossible to give a one-size-fits-all answer about DSCR loan amounts. There are so many options, and your properties will each require different loans. You’ll have to talk to brokers and lenders in your area to find the best rates for you.

Using DSCR with BRRRR

If you’re lucky, the rental property you’re getting into is a BRRRR property. You can use a DSCR loan like any other traditional conventional loan to refinance.

If you buy the property at 75% or below its ARV, you can use a DSCR loan and buy a rental property with zero money down.

Read the full article here.

Watch the full video here:

Text: "DSCR Loans Pros and Cons"

The Pros and Cons of a DSCR Loan

Every loan in the world has its pros and cons – DSCR loans are no exception. The important thing is to be able to evaluate whether it’s right for your property.

DSCR Loan Pros

No Income Requirements

The biggest advantage to a DSCR Loan is that there are no income requirements.

You don’t have to work a W2 job, or be self-employed for 2 years. The application won’t ask where you work or what you do.

This is helpful if you’ve just started a new job, become recently unemployed, or have more unconventional income.

The number one requirement for a DSCR loan is the income from the property itself.

Business-Friendly Financing

DSCRs are considered business loans since the properties are non-owner-occupied. The majority of them allow you to finance in an LLC or other business name.

They also do loans in different states. If you have properties in Colorado and Florida, you can go to one lender and they can lend both places.

Minimal Paperwork

If you’ve ever done a traditional loan, you know the paperwork is a giant hassle. DSCR loans have very minimal paperwork. They’ll need to look at your:

  • Credit score
  • Loan-to-value
  • Rent

And that’s it.

The majority of lenders won’t ask for info on your other properties. They just want to know the other properties are current, and that shows up on your credit report. Even if you have other rental properties with negative cash flow, it won’t impact your ability to get a DSCR loan on a positive cash-flowing one.

As long as you have a property that’s making money, you can get this loan for very little paperwork.

DSCR Loan Cons

Prepayment Penalties

DSCR loans almost always come with pre-pay penalties. You have to keep the loan for a minimum timeframe of around 3-5 years to avoid a fee for paying off early.

So, if you get a DSCR loan, then a year later you find someone who wants to buy, or some other unexpected event comes up and you have to sell the property… You’re stuck paying to get out.

And prepayment penalties can be up to 5% of the loan amount.

Let’s say you have a $200,000 loan with a 5 year pre-pay minimum. And you end up wanting to sell it after 2 years. Then you’ll have to pay the lender 5% of $200,000 – or $10,000 – just to get out of the loan.

Higher Rates Than Other Conventional Loans

Some DSCR loans have 5, 7, or 10-year ARMs that keep rates down. Still, DSCR interest rates will be 1.25 to 1.5 points higher than other conventional loans.

This will impact your cash flow, so a property has to have a strong cash flow for you to consider a DSCR loan.

Pros vs Cons: Are DSCR Loans Worth It?

Despite their drawbacks, DSCR loans can be a truly great option.

It’s a great portfolio loan for real estate investors. DSCR is perfect for people who want something easy, or who don’t have the income traditional loans need.

As long as your specific property fits the criteria and the cash flow is there, a DSCR is a great easy loan to build your portfolio without the hassle of underwriting.

Read the full article here.

Watch the full video here:

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Understanding Real Estate Loans: What Is a DSCR Loan?

What is a DSCR loan, and when should you use one?

DSCR loans have been around for a few years, and they’re only getting more popular.

These are unique opportunities for funding rental properties. But they aren’t for just any deal.

Are DSCR loans right for you? Could you find properties that qualify? Let’s find out.

What is a DSCR Loan?

DSCR stands for Debt Service Coverage Ratio, which is a term used in the mortgage industry.

In the real estate industry, a DSCR loan is more commonly known as an “easy loan.”

What is it that makes a DSCR loan so “easy”?

DSCR Loans’ Easy Reputation

DSCR loans are easy because they cut out 50 to 60% of the paperwork required for a typical loan of its kind. If you’ve ever done a loan for a rental property, you know the paperwork seems endless.

All a DSCR loan looks at is whether your property’s rent covers your monthly expenses. At the very least, your rent (income) needs to be higher than your expenses – payments, taxes, insurance, HOA, etc.

The only other consistent criteria for getting a DSCR loan is your credit score. But if you have a good to great credit score and a cash-flowing property, you can get one of these easy DSCR loans.

What Is Unique About a DSCR Loan?

Every DSCR loan will be slightly different. You can find a DSCR loan in any shape or size.

Each lender puts their own nuance in their DSCR loans. There’s no national standard for underwriting for these loans. There are thousands of institutions offering these loans, so there are thousands of different versions of them.

For your investments, you can find DSCR 30-year loans, 3 to 7-year adjustables, interest-only loans, and more. DSCRs are useful for their range of options.

But you do have to shop around for each of your DSCR loans. Each lender will have different criteria, and your different rental properties will each meet a different set of criteria.

Take your time finding DSCR loans, and take advantage of their wide variety.

Other Common Requirements for DSCR Loans

As mentioned, DSCR loans can vary widely from lender to lender. But there are a few more common requirements for DSCR loans to keep in mind.

First, DSCR loans typically require 20% down for a purchase. Their refinance max is usually 75%. There are unique lenders out there that will offer more, but a lower down payment will be offset by higher interest rates.

Second, interest rates for DSCR loans are typically around 1.25 to 1.5% higher than other traditional conforming conventional loans.

Third – and this is an important one – DSCR loans almost always come with pre-pay penalties.

You have to keep the loan for a set amount of time, usually 3-5 years. Or else you have to pay the lender a penalty for paying it off early. That means if you sell or refinance, they’ll charge you a penalty.

Lenders will want these loans to stay on the property for a longer amount of time. So they penalize you for ending the loan before their minimum timeframe. Watch for these penalties, and be sure they fit into your guidelines for a project.

DSCR Loan Pros and Cons

Every loan in the world has its pros and cons. The important thing is to be able to evaluate whether it’s right for your property.

DSCR Loan Pros

No Income Requirements

The biggest advantage to a DSCR Loan is that there are no income requirements.

You don’t have to work a W2 job, or be self-employed for 2 years. The application won’t ask where you work or what you do.

This is helpful if you’ve just started a new job, become recently unemployed, or have more unconventional income.

The number one requirement for a DSCR loan is the income from the property itself.

Business-Friendly Financing

DSCRs are considered business loans since the properties are non-owner-occupied. The majority of them allow you to finance in an LLC or other business name. 

They also do loans in different states. If you have properties in Colorado and Florida, you can go to one lender and they can lend both places.

Minimal Paperwork

If you’ve ever done a traditional loan, you know the paperwork is a giant hassle. DSCR loans have very minimal paperwork. They’ll need to look at your:

  • Credit score
  • Loan-to-value
  • Rent

And that’s it. 

The majority of lenders won’t ask for info on your other properties. They just want to know the other properties are current, and that shows up on your credit report. Even if you have other rental properties with negative cash flow, it won’t impact your ability to get a DSCR loan on a positive cash-flowing one. 

As long as you have a property that’s making money, you can get this loan for very little paperwork.

DSCR Loan Cons

Prepayment Penalties

DSCR loans almost always come with pre-pay penalties. You have to keep the loan for a minimum timeframe of around 3-5 years to avoid a fee for paying off early.

So, if you get a DSCR loan, then a year later you find someone who wants to buy, or some other unexpected event comes up and you have to sell the property… You’re stuck paying to get out.

And prepayment penalties can be up to 5% of the loan amount. 

Let’s say you have a $200,000 loan with a 5 year pre-pay minimum. And you end up wanting to sell it after 2 years. Then you’ll have to pay the lender 5% of $200,000 – or $10,000 – just to get out of the loan.

Higher Rates Than Other Conventional Loans

Some DSCR loans have 5, 7, or 10-year ARMs that keep rates down. Still, DSCR interest rates will be 1.25 to 1.5 points higher than other conventional loans. 

This will impact your cash flow, so a property has to have a strong cash flow for you to consider a DSCR loan.

Pros vs Cons: Are DSCR Loans Worth It?

Despite their drawbacks, DSCR loans can be a truly great option. 

It’s a great portfolio loan for real estate investors. DSCR is perfect for people who want something easy, or who don’t have the income traditional loans need.

As long as your specific property fits the criteria and the cash flow is there, a DSCR is a great easy loan to build your portfolio without the hassle of underwriting.

DSCR Formula

An important part of considering a DSCR loan is understanding the DSCR calculation. All lenders will look at this formula for DSCR loans. 

Let’s go through and look at the numbers to find out if your property has enough cash flow for a DSCR loan. 

(You can grab our free download that sets up this DSCR formula at this link.)

Income & Expenses

The number one thing DSCR lenders look at is income.

For this example, let’s say our rent is $1,000 per month.

The next thing they look at is expenses.

They want to make sure your income more than covers your total costs. They’ll look at: mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, and HOA. Right now, they don’t look at property management costs, but that could change in the future.

Let’s fill out these numbers for our example property:

Table. Title: "DSCR Formula." Rent: $1000. An itemized list of expenses totaling $850.

So, the total expenses for this property are $850. Right away, we can see that income more than covers expenses, and this property cash flows $150/month.

Applying the DSCR Formula

Then, the equation lenders will do to determine this cash flow will be:

Income  ÷  Expenses  =  Cash Flow Rate

Or, in this case:

1000  ÷  850  =  1.17+

Lenders are looking for a positive cash flow. They want properties with:

  • Bare minimum: One-to-one. This means your rent at least covers your costs. (Example: Rent is $1000 and your monthly expenses on the property is $1000).
  • Better: 1+
  • Best: 1.25+

Download our free spreadsheet to fill out this formula for your properties to see if they’d qualify for a DSCR loan.

DSCR Loan Down Payment

What is the down payment requirement for DSCR loans? What does refinancing look like with this type of loan?

Down Payments for Different Types of Properties

Your typical DSCR loan will require 20% down, but as interest rates are rising, you may see that that tighten up to 25%. So, if you’re buying a $100,000 property, they’ll loan you 80%, or $80,000. But you’ll have to come up with the remaining $20,000.

If you go from a single-family to a four-plex (some DSCR loans work for up to six-plexes!), you may be required to put in more like 25-30%. As your “doors” go up, so does your down payment.

But always check around! DSCR loans are the wild west. You’ll have lots of choices, every lender likes having slightly different requirements.

Refinancing with a DSCR Loan

For a rate and term refinance, a DSCR loan will typically cover 75%. 

So you’ll need 25% equity in the property on a DSCR loan to do rate and term. 

Cash out refinancing is a little tighter. Most are at 70%, but you could find outliers between 65 and 80% (but the higher ones will raise your interest 2 or 3 points).

For true, good DSCR loans, you’ll be maxed out at 75% for rate and term, 70% for cash out.

Let’s say you’re looking at a property that’s worth $100,000. On the cash out, you can only get $70,000, and you’ll need $30,000 in equity. For rate and term, the max loaned is $75,000.

At the end of the day, it’s impossible to give a one-size-fits-all answer about DSCR loan amounts. There are so many options, and your properties will each require different loans. You’ll have to talk to brokers and lenders in your area to find the best rates for you.

Using DSCR with BRRRR

If you’re lucky, the rental property you’re getting into is a BRRRR property. You can use a DSCR loan like any other traditional conventional loan to refinance.

If you buy the property at 75% or below its ARV, you can use a DSCR loan and buy a rental property with zero money down.

Airbnb Investing with a DSCR Loan

Can you buy an Airbnb with a DSCR loan? 

Short answer: yes. However, you may come across a few obstacles.

Using Standard Rental Rates

Typically, to refinance an Airbnb, a lender requires 2 years’ history of rents and expenses for the property.

If you can’t provide that, a DSCR loan could be an option for your short-term rental.

But to get the DSCR loan, you need to use the standard rental rates for a standard rental property in that area. Without a longer history, you can’t use your Airbnb rates as the income for the property.

This can be a major hurdle.

A property that’s successful with short-term rentals (Airbnb, VRBO, etc.), probably makes more money than a standard monthly rental in the same area. In fact, the monthly income from an Airbnb can be 3-4x the standard rents in an area.

But a DSCR will require you to use the number for standard rents. So it’s possible that even though your short-term rental is cash-flowing, it might not qualify for a DSCR loan.

Lenders and Airbnb Investing

DSCR loans vary from lender to lender. Three-quarters of DSCR lenders will be open to loaning for Airbnb properties. The other quarter will want nothing to do with it.

Some lenders look at Airbnb as a riskier investment. Cash-flow has the potential to be higher, but there are a lot of moving parts. Also, some municipalities put restrictions on short-term rentals, making them a more unpredictable investment in lenders’ eyes.

It’s still worthwhile to research a DSCR loan for your Airbnb. You should always shop around – you’re bound to find the right lender with the right loan for your project.

What Other Loans Are Available to You?

DSCR loans are unique, great opportunities for some rental properties. If you have more questions about DSCR, don’t hesitate to reach out at HardMoneyMike.com.

Again, here’s the link to download our free DSCR loan calculator.

And if you’re curious about your other loan options as a real estate investor, try this free lending options download.

Happy Investing.