Airbnb Loans in New York
AAPL Member · Direct Lender Since 2016 · NMLS #1979189
New York’s short-term rental demand is concentrated in its vacation country — the Catskills, the Adirondacks, the Finger Lakes, Lake George, and the Hudson Valley — where weekenders and seasonal travelers fill cabins and lake houses year-round. Those properties can out-earn a long-term lease by a wide margin, but financing them trips up most investors, because a vacation rental usually has no annual lease and conventional lenders don’t know how to underwrite nightly income. Airbnb loans solve that. We qualify your loan on the property’s short-term rental income, not your personal income, so you can finance a New York vacation rental the way it actually earns. Tidal Loans has financed New York investors as a direct lender since 2016, with a program built specifically around the Airbnb and VRBO model.
An important note on New York City: the city heavily restricts short-term rentals under its current short-term rental law, which effectively limits most Airbnb-style nightly rentals in the five boroughs. Our short-term rental financing is best suited to New York’s vacation regions and other municipalities that permit short-term rentals — so this page focuses there. Always confirm local rules before counting on STR income.
How Airbnb Financing Works — It's a DSCR Loan
A New York Airbnb loan is a DSCR loan built for short-term rentals. DSCR stands for Debt Service Coverage Ratio — we compare the property’s income to its debt payments, and if the income covers the mortgage, the deal qualifies. The difference with a short-term rental is the income side: instead of a long-term lease, we use the property’s short-term rental income. That income can come from two sources — projected short-term rental market rents drawn from data platforms like AirDNA, or 12 months of actual received short-term rental income if the property has booking history. Either way, the higher nightly and seasonal rates a strong Catskills or Finger Lakes rental commands actually help you qualify, rather than being ignored the way a bank would.
Because it’s underwritten on the property, there’s no personal income verification — no tax returns, no pay stubs, no debt-to-income ceiling. You can close in an LLC, and you get long-term financing on a short-term rental: 30-year fixed terms, with ARM and interest-only options available.
New York Short-Term Rental Markets
The Catskills & Hudson Valley
The Catskills and Hudson Valley are among the most popular weekend-getaway markets in the Northeast, with steady demand from New York City travelers. We underwrite the loan on what the property can earn as a short-term rental, peak seasons included.
The Adirondacks & Lake George
The Adirondacks and Lake George draw strong summer and seasonal vacation demand, supporting cabin and lake-house rentals. Our financing counts that projected or actual STR income rather than capping you at a long-term lease rate.
The Finger Lakes & Statewide
The Finger Lakes wine country and other tourism regions round out the state’s short-term rental demand, and we lend statewide wherever STRs are permitted. If the property can cash-flow on short-term rents and operate legally in its market, we can finance it.
New York Airbnb Loan Terms
New York Airbnb Loan Terms
For lending purposes, a short-term rental is a property leased for fewer than 30 days per stay, or one actively advertised as a short-term rental on platforms like Airbnb or VRBO. This distinction matters because the income underwriting, insurance requirements, and local compliance picture are all different from a standard long-term lease. Because STR income is more variable than a 12-month lease, we prefer to see at least a 1.0 DSCR — meaning the projected or actual income at least covers the full mortgage payment. Deals below 1.0 aren’t automatically declined; they’re reviewed case-by-case with adjusted terms. A strong market like the Catskills or Lake George, solid booking history, or a viable fallback long-term rent all help a borderline deal get to yes. And because New York regulates short-term rentals heavily in some areas — New York City in particular — confirming your property can legally operate as a short-term rental is a core part of underwriting, and we always recommend knowing the fallback long-term rent.
Buying a New York Airbnb With Little Out of Pocket
A pure zero-down purchase isn’t realistic since we lend up to 80% LTV, but you can minimize cash out of pocket — and on the BRRRR path you can recoup it. If you buy and renovate a property with New York hard money or a fix and flip loan, then refinance the stabilized short-term rental into a DSCR loan with a cash-out refinance, you can pull your original capital back out and redeploy it. For straightforward long-term holds, our New York DSCR loans cover the buy-and-hold side.
Why New York Investors Choose Tidal Loans
We’re a direct lender — we underwrite in-house and lend our own capital, which means faster answers and a team that understands how short-term rentals actually earn. We’ve financed New York investors since 2016, and our DSCR program was built around the Airbnb and VRBO model rather than bolted onto a conventional mortgage shop. Whether you’re buying a cabin in the Catskills, a lake house at Lake George, or a getaway in the Finger Lakes, we finance it on the strength of the property’s nightly income.
- No minimum credit score — we pull credit, but a low score adjusts your terms, not your eligibility
- Qualify on projected or actual STR income — AirDNA market rents or 12 months of booking history
- 30-year fixed financing on a nightly rental — long-term stability on a short-term property
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. We finance Airbnb and VRBO properties across New York’s vacation regions using the property’s short-term rental income rather than your personal income, so you don’t need a long-term lease, tax returns, or W-2s. If the projected or actual nightly income supports the mortgage, the deal can qualify, and you can close in an LLC with 30-year fixed financing.
New York City heavily restricts short-term rentals under its current law, which limits most Airbnb-style nightly rentals in the five boroughs. Our STR financing is best suited to New York’s vacation regions and other municipalities that permit short-term rentals — always confirm local rules before counting on STR income.
We use either projected short-term rental market rents from data platforms like AirDNA, or 12 months of actual received STR income if the property has booking history. That income goes into the DSCR calculation against your proposed mortgage payment.
We have no minimum credit score. We do run a hard credit pull, but a low score doesn’t disqualify your deal. Your score affects pricing and leverage: stronger credit earns a better rate and higher LTV, while a lower score means more conservative terms. The property’s STR income carries the underwriting.
Yes, and most of our short-term rental investors do. Because these are business-purpose investment loans, closing in an LLC is fully supported and often preferred for liability protection. A loan closed in your LLC’s name also generally won’t appear on your personal credit report.
Ready to fund your New York short-term rental?
Get a fast quote from a direct lender — or call and walk your Catskills, Lake George, or Finger Lakes rental through with us.