Investment Property Loans for Self-Employed Borrowers
AAPL Member · Direct Lender Since 2016 · NMLS #1979189
Ask any self-employed business owner about getting a mortgage and you’ll hear the same frustration: the write-offs that make your business smart on taxes make you look broke to an underwriter. Conventional lenders judge you on net income after every deduction, so the more efficiently you run your business, the less you appear to earn — and the harder it becomes to qualify, no matter how much cash actually flows through your accounts. Asset-based investment loans sidestep this entirely by qualifying on the property instead of your tax returns. Tidal Loans has financed self-employed investors as a direct lender since 2016.
If you’ve been told you “don’t show enough income” despite running a healthy business, this is the category of financing built for your situation. We never look at your adjusted gross income, because we never ask for it.
The DSCR Loan Solves the Write-Off Problem
The cleanest answer for a self-employed investor is the DSCR loan. It qualifies on the rental property’s income — we divide the rent by the mortgage payment, and if the property covers itself, it qualifies. Your personal income, your Schedule C, your depreciation, your business write-offs: none of it enters the underwriting. There are no tax returns, no W-2s, no profit-and-loss statements, and no debt-to-income calculation. For a self-employed borrower whose tax return understates their real financial strength, this is transformative — you’re judged on the asset’s performance, not your accountant’s optimization.
This also means there’s no limit on how many properties you can finance, which matters for a business owner building a portfolio alongside their company.
Flips, Bridges, and Cash-Out, Same Logic
The DSCR loan is the marquee product, but every loan we offer follows the same income-free underwriting. A fix and flip loan is underwritten on the after-repair value; a hard money loan on the property’s value; a bridge loan on the asset and your exit. And when you want to turn equity in one property into capital for the next — without a tax-return-driven refinance — a cash-out refinance pulls it out at up to 75% of value, with no seasoning required after a renovation. A self-employed investor can run an entire BRRRR cycle without ever handing a lender a tax return.
What We Look At Instead
Since we skip the income documentation, the file centers on the property and your liquidity: the property’s value and income, proof of funds for your down payment and reserves, your entity documents (most self-employed investors already operate through an LLC), and a credit report — pulled, but with no minimum score, so a strong business owner with average credit still qualifies on the deal. Our DSCR requirements page details the property side; the self-employed advantage is simply everything that isn’t on the list.
Self-Employed Lending at a Glance
Self-Employed Lending at a Glance
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, and it’s often easier than a conventional mortgage. Asset-based loans like DSCR qualify on the property’s income rather than your personal income, so the write-offs that lower your taxable income don’t count against you. There are no tax returns or P&L statements required.
Conventional lenders qualify you on net income after deductions, so the business write-offs that reduce your taxes also reduce the income they’ll credit you. A profitable business can look low-income on paper, which is exactly the problem asset-based lending avoids.
Correct. A DSCR loan and our other investor products are underwritten on the property — its income, value, and your reserves — not your personal income. No tax returns, no W-2s, no profit-and-loss statements, and no debt-to-income ratio.
There’s no minimum credit score. We pull a hard credit report, but a lower score adjusts your terms rather than disqualifying you. The property’s performance carries the underwriting, so a self-employed borrower with average credit can still qualify on a strong deal.
Yes. There’s no limit on the number of properties you can finance with our DSCR and investor loans, and since none of it touches your personal debt-to-income ratio, building a portfolio alongside your business doesn’t cap you the way conventional lending would.
Tired of tax-return underwriting?
Tell us the property and its income. We never look at your adjusted gross income, because we never ask for it.