The practical path serious investors use — qualify on the property’s income, not your salary, with no cap on how many rentals you can finance.
Financing a rental is different from financing a home you live in — and for investors, that difference works in your favor. Instead of qualifying you on your salary and capping how many properties you can own, a rental loan qualifies the property on its income. This guide walks through how to finance a rental property the way serious investors do, from analysis to close.
For the full picture, see our rental loan program; below is the practical path.
Step 1: Run the Rent-to-Payment Numbers
The workhorse rental loan today is the DSCR loan, which measures the rent against the full mortgage payment. Before you apply, confirm the property cash-flows. A DSCR of 1.0 breaks even and 1.25 gives a cushion, but there’s no minimum DSCR — we fund below 1.0 with adjusted terms. Model it first with our DSCR loan program.
Step 2: Pick the Right Loan Structure
Most rental financing is a 30-year fixed loan for predictable long-term cash flow, with interest-only options available. If you’re holding a long-term lease, our standard rental and DSCR products fit; if it’s a vacation rental, our Airbnb and short-term rental program qualifies on projected nightly income. Match the structure to how the property actually earns.
Step 3: Prepare the Light Documentation
There are no tax returns, W-2s, or personal debt-to-income calculations. You’ll provide the property details, the lease or a market-rent estimate, entity documents if closing in an LLC, and proof of a few months of reserves. Most rental purchases need as little as 15% down on a qualifying deal.
Step 4: Get Your Quote and Close
Tell the lender about the property and the rent, and you’ll get a scenario-specific quote. There’s no minimum credit score — a stronger score earns better pricing, a lower one is priced in. Because the decision rides on the property’s income, closings are fast, often within 7 to 10 business days, and you can close in an LLC to keep the loan off your personal credit.
Step 5: Scale Without the Conventional Ceiling
The biggest advantage is what happens next. Conventional financing caps how many properties you can finance; rental loans underwritten on each property’s income have no such cap. As you grow, you can pull equity from performing rentals through a cash-out refinance to fund the next purchase — recycling capital instead of running out of it.
Rental Property Financing at a Glance
Rental Property Financing at a Glance
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. A rental loan underwritten as a DSCR product qualifies on the property’s rent rather than your personal income, so there are no tax returns, W-2s, or debt-to-income calculations.
As little as 15% down on a qualifying purchase (up to 85% LTV), or the equivalent equity on a refinance. Most purchases land around 20–25% down depending on the ratio and your credit.
Generally no. Unlike conventional financing, rental loans underwritten on each property’s income place no cap on how many properties you own or finance.
There’s no minimum credit score. We pull a hard credit report, but a low score is offset with more conservative terms rather than a denial. A stronger score earns a better rate and higher leverage.
Yes, and most investors do. These are business-purpose loans, so closing in an LLC is fully supported and keeps the loan off your personal credit report.