When Goodyear closed its Union City tire plant, Obion County lost 2,000 direct jobs and an estimated 4,000 indirect ones, according to Radio NWTN. That event still shapes every cash-out refinance on an investment property in Union City, Tennessee. Titan Tire has since bought the building and put people back to work. For a landlord pulling equity, the lesson is plain: coverage here depends on a short list of employers, and the value an appraiser can defend often matters more than the rent roll.
At a Glance: In Union City, Tennessee, a DSCR cash-out fits the investor who already owns seasoned workforce rentals or small multifamily and wants to recycle equity, because the refinance is underwritten on each property’s rent against its full monthly obligation, and in this low-price market the appraised value, not the rent, usually sets the ceiling on proceeds.
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Rate source: Freddie Mac 30-yr average via FRED® — Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis · effective Sep 24, 2026
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As of Sep 24, 2026 · General Freddie Mac market benchmark, not a Lendmire loan offer. Property value, balance, taxes, and insurance are editable estimates. Maximum loan-to-value varies by lender, program, property type, and seasoning. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
- Zumper puts the citywide median rent at $950, drawn from a thin sample. – Homes.com shows 86 average days on market versus 45 nationally, so comps run thin. – Tyson Foods and Williams Sausage employ 1,720 and 500 workers, a real concentration risk.
- Cash-out leverage generally tops out at 75% LTV after about six months of ownership, subject to lender guidelines.
- Two-unit rent rolls clear coverage more easily than single-family homes at the top of the price range.
Appraisal Is the Ceiling Here, Not Rent
In Union City, the rent side of a cash-out usually holds up. The value side is where files get squeezed. Low purchase prices sit next to rents that cover debt comfortably, but a thin sales market limits what an appraiser can support. That caps proceeds long before the coverage ratio does on most single-family rentals.
Start with rent. Zumper reports a median of $950 across all bedroom counts and property types. It also shows rents up 28% over the last year and down 5% in the last month. Zumper flags a shortage of data behind those estimates, so treat the 28% as directional, not a trend line. A market this small can swing on a handful of new listings. Exact terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, property type, leverage, and a full review of the borrower’s file.
Listing snapshots tell a similar story about the income band. Zillow’s rental listings showed a 3-bedroom, 1-bath house asking $1,450, with 1-bedroom apartments at Hillwood Manor from $950 and 2-bedrooms from $1,050. Zillow’s apartments page showed the same complex lower, at $800+ and $900+. Conflicting asking rents from a small inventory. Useful for framing, not for underwriting.
Now the harder number. No reliable median home price exists for Union City from a source worth quoting. What does exist is slow turnover: Homes.com says homes sell after 86 days on the market on average, against a national average of 45. Slow sales mean fewer fresh comparable sales, and appraisers in thin markets often reach for older or out-of-town comps. Those tend to cap value rather than stretch it.
Here’s the catch for equity extraction. A cash-out’s proceeds come from the appraised value times the leverage cap, minus the existing payoff. If the value comes in conservative, the rent roll doesn’t rescue the file. Investors who bought distressed or renovated product should expect the appraiser to anchor on what actually sold nearby (and the foreclosure listings on the market don’t help that conversation).
Running the Coverage on Four Kinds of Union City Collateral
The coverage math in Union City is strong on modest single-family homes and weak only at the top of the local price range. Modeled at a 75% cash-out LTV with full taxes and insurance included, a typical 3-bed rental covers around 1.35x, while a higher-priced single-family house renting at the same level slips below 1.00x. Every figure here varies by lender and program — guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.
The table below uses modeled assumptions, not market medians. Values are stand-ins taken from Zillow for-sale listings (a $69,000 2-bed house, a $179,900 3-bed, and a $269,900 4-bed), treated as if they were appraised values on rentals an investor already owns. Rents are the $1,450 Zillow 3-bed listing, the $950 Zumper median, and a two-unit roll at $1,200 per unit from the low end of the $1,200–$1,300 band Redfin shows for 2-bedroom product. Each coverage figure is rent divided by the full monthly obligation (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) on a 30-year amortization.
| Modeled collateral (value) | Rent assumption | Coverage incl. Taxes and insurance |
|---|---|---|
| 3-bed SFR at $179,900 | $1,450 | About 1.35x |
| 2-bed house at $69,000 | $950 | Above 2.0x, very small loan |
| 4-bed SFR at $269,900 | $1,450 | Low-0.9x |
| Duplex at $269,900 | $2,400 (two units) | About 1.5x |
The 3-bed row is the core Union City rental. At about 1.35x, the property carries its full debt with meaningful cushion even at the 75% leverage cap. For this owner, the rent roll isn’t the constraint. The appraisal is. Final terms depend on lender guidelines, property type, leverage, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
The $69,000 row looks spectacular on paper and is a different problem entirely. Coverage above 2.0x means almost nothing when 75% of the value produces a loan balance that most standard programs weren’t built for. Smaller balances route through select lenders in the network, which narrows the options and can change pricing and terms. Works for bigger files, not this one — unless the owner bundles several small houses into a larger refinance.
The 4-bed row is where the answer flips. If that house rents in line with the $1,450 3-bed listing, modeled coverage lands in the low-0.9x range. That doesn’t end the conversation, but it changes it. A lender could review a sub-1.00 program, which usually means lower leverage, different pricing, or stronger reserves. Interest-only structuring is another path some lenders consider. The simplest lever is asking for less cash: dropping the request to roughly 60% LTV pushes the same modeled file back to about 1.1x. Every one of those paths is subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, and property review.
DSCR files in markets like this one typically clear the coverage test comfortably and then stall on value. The appraisal comes back with comps pulled from a wider radius or an older sale window, and the cash-out shrinks even though the rent never moved. Files tend to go more smoothly when the owner shows up with current signed leases, a clean rent roll, a record of renovation work with receipts, and a list of recent nearby sales, because the appraiser and the lender are both working with the same thin data.
Where Do Union City Rents Actually Hold?
Demand concentrates around employment. North of downtown near the tire plant and the blocks surrounding the hospital are the pockets most directly tied to the city’s paychecks, while the quieter ranch-home streets south of downtown lean toward longer-tenure tenants. No source publishes neighborhood-level rents, so the reads below are qualitative.
Dyad Property Management describes Union City as a geographically isolated niche market with low acquisition prices, and it pins rental demand on two anchors: the old Goodyear plant, now Titan, and Baptist Memorial. It splits the city into an area north of downtown near the plant, with consistent demand from plant employees, and ranch-home corridors south of downtown that attract long-term tenants. That’s a property manager’s marketing page, not a data set. Still, it matches the employer map.
The plant-side pocket north of downtown and out toward Goodyear Blvd is the most demand-linked rental stock in the city, and the most exposed to a staffing cut. Owners refinancing here are effectively making a leveraged bet on Titan’s headcount. Not ideal for a maximum-leverage cash-out. Better for a moderate one that leaves room in the coverage ratio.
Around Bishop and Hillcrest streets, the anchor is Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City, a 137-bed facility serving northwest Tennessee and western Kentucky. Its services page says the ER sees more than 20,000 patients each year, and the campus includes a 13,000 sq ft cancer center. Healthcare payrolls don’t move with commodity cycles the way food processing and tire manufacturing can, which makes rentals near the hospital a steadier hold. That tenant link is inferred from location, though, not measured.
The East Reelfoot Ave corridor carries the city’s commercial strip and much of its for-sale inventory, including the higher-priced single-family listings that stress coverage in the table above. Owners here should expect the widest gap between what the house might sell for and what it rents for. Apartment pockets along Stone St, High School Dr, and Oakshire Rd show up repeatedly in rental listings, which signals established multifamily stock in those areas.
The north side around Discovery Park of America, a 100,000-square-foot museum on a 50-acre heritage park, brings visitor traffic that most towns of this size never see. It’s a real amenity. For long-term rental underwriting, though, visitor counts don’t enter the coverage math, and a refinance should stand on lease income alone.
Two Units Beat One
Small multifamily is the stronger cash-out vehicle in Union City because rent stacks across units while the appraised value stays in a range local comps can support. The duplex row above covers around 1.5x at a value where a single-family house at typical rent falls short of 1.00x.
Supply exists. Homes.com lists a multi-unit building near downtown with 1-bedroom units and a detached garage, plus a duplex on a dead-end street. Redfin shows Villages of Autumnwood, with renovated 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments and duplexes, and Ware Park, a 64-unit community. No source publishes a market rent-per-unit figure, so each property needs its own rent roll to make the case.
Unit quality matters more than unit count. Redfin’s townhome listings show newer 2-bed, 1.5-bath product around $1,200–$1,300 a month, including one at $1,300. Older apartment units run $650–$950, with one Zillow example at $650. A $650 unit doesn’t carry much debt on its own. Stack two newer units at $1,200 or better and the coverage picture changes completely.
The stronger play might be refinancing a renovated duplex over a nicer single-family house, even though the house would probably sell more easily. Exit liquidity favors the house; the rent-to-debt ratio favors the duplex by a wide margin. For an owner whose goal is recycling capital into the next acquisition rather than selling, coverage wins that argument. An owner who expects to sell within a few years could reasonably argue the other way.
How Much Should a Plant Town Borrow Against Itself?
Enough to fund the next deal, not so much that one employer decision breaks coverage. Union City’s rental demand rests on a few large payrolls, the population is flat, and no reliable appreciation series exists to justify stretching leverage on expected value gains.
The concentration is real. The Obion County JEDC puts Tyson Foods at 1,720 employees, and the county’s manufacturers directory lists the Tyson-owned Williams Sausage Company at 500. Titan Tire operates the 2.1 million sq ft former Goodyear plant, though no current headcount was captured. For scale, the Tennessee Encyclopedia records that Goodyear arrived employing 3,000 workers. The recovery is partial, not complete.
The broader numbers are steady rather than expanding. Census Bureau QuickFacts places the city’s population at 10,982, and Biggest US Cities rates its growth below average. The JEDC’s workforce page reports a county labor force of 12,328 with a 3.5% unemployment rate, and Tennessee Demographics puts median household income at $50,870. That’s a tenant base that pays workforce rents reliably but doesn’t support aggressive rent bumps.
The honest read: this is a cash-flow market, not an appreciation market. A cash-out that only works if values keep rising is the wrong cash-out here. One that works at today’s appraisal, with coverage comfortably above 1.00x, is the right one. Investors weighing the tradeoff can find refinance details that compare a rate-and-term restructure with pulling cash.
Structuring the Refinance
The mechanics are simple on paper. A DSCR loan measures the property’s rent against its full monthly obligation instead of leaning on the owner’s personal income, and Lendmire’s DSCR guide walks through the ratio in detail. Unlike conventional financing, which counts financed properties and personal debt-to-income, the rent carries the file; the DSCR versus conventional breakdown covers where each fits. Where some DSCR platforms still require tax-return review despite the label, the programs the brokerage arranges are reviewed primarily on property-level rent, depending on the specific program.
Three parameters matter most for a Union City cash-out:
- Leverage: cash-out LTV generally caps at 75% of appraised value, which is why the appraisal dominates every file in this market.
- Seasoning: most programs look for about six months of ownership, measured from title recording, before cash-out is available.
- Coverage and credit: a 1.00x ratio is the common benchmark because rent covers the payment at that level; credit tiers run 620, 660, 680, and 700, and reserves typically run about six months of the monthly obligation.
A 1.00x ratio isn’t a guarantee of anything, and sub-1.00 or no-ratio options usually require stronger compensating factors, lower leverage, or different pricing. Review details are subject to lender overlays, and program terms can change, so any file should be confirmed against current guidelines before an appraisal is ordered. Owners holding title in an LLC can refinance in the entity’s name, subject to lender program eligibility. Manufactured homes, log homes, and barndominiums fall outside these DSCR programs entirely, which matters in rural Obion County, where that housing stock is common.
The payoff is the proceeds. Cash pulled from a seasoned Union City rental becomes the down payment or reserve cushion for the next property, and the guide “The Refi Options” explains the sequencing. Owners with holdings across the state can compare DSCR loan options for Tennessee investors. To test a specific property, investors can get a rental-income loan quote or reach the team at 828-256-2183.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you qualify for a DSCR cash-out refinance in Union City?
The property’s rent has to cover its full monthly obligation, typically at or above 1.00x, after about six months of ownership. At Union City rent levels, most single-family rentals in the local price band clear that test; the bigger variable is whether the appraisal supports the value needed for the cash requested. Credit, reserves, and property condition are reviewed by the lender, subject to program guidelines.
What are the requirements for a cash-out refinance on an investment property in Union City, Tennessee?
Expect a 75% LTV ceiling, roughly six months of seasoning from title recording, a credit score of at least 620 with better terms at higher tiers, and about six months of reserves. Leases or a market rent appraisal document the income side. Very small loan balances, common with Union City’s lowest-priced houses, route through select lenders and may carry different terms. These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
DSCR vs. conventional financing
There are two common ways to finance an investment property in Union City, TN, and they qualify you differently — here’s how investors weigh them.
Why investors choose it
- Qualifies on the property’s rental income — no personal tax returns, W-2s, or pay stubs needed to document income.
- No personal debt-to-income ceiling to clear, so existing mortgages and obligations don’t cap your borrowing the same way.
- Can be closed in an LLC, keeping the property inside a business entity.
- Built for scaling — not held to the limit on number of financed properties that conventional financing applies.
- Underwriting centers on the deal: generally qualifies when the rent covers the payment, a 1.00x coverage ratio being a common baseline (confirmed in underwriting).
- Designed specifically for investment property, including long-term and, where the program allows, short-term rentals.
Where it’s strong
- Often the lowest ongoing financing cost for a buyer who fully qualifies on personal income — a fit for a first property or a cost-first purchase.
Trade-offs for investors
- Requires full personal income documentation and must fit within a debt-to-income limit — salary, existing debts, and other mortgages all count.
- Typically held in your personal name rather than a business entity.
- Caps how many financed properties you can carry, which can become a ceiling as a portfolio grows.
- Evaluates you as a borrower as much as the property, which usually means more paperwork.
How investors usually choose: a first or single property often optimizes for the lowest financing cost; portfolio builders often optimize for leverage, vesting in an LLC, and scaling past conventional caps. The right answer depends on your goals, the property, and current guidelines — both paths run through select lenders in Lendmire’s wholesale network, with eligibility and terms confirmed in underwriting.
Will thin comps hurt my appraisal in Union City?
Thin comps can work against an appraisal here. Homes in Union City tend to sit on the market considerably longer than the national norm, so appraisers often have fewer recent local sales to work with and may widen the search radius. Supplying documented renovation work and a list of recent nearby sales gives the appraiser more to work with.
Does the Tyson and Titan employer base change how lenders view Union City rentals?
Lenders underwrite the property’s rent, not the local employer mix, but concentration should shape how much cash an owner pulls. A layoff at the tire plant or the poultry operations would hit the plant-side rental pocket first. Leaving coverage well above 1.00x is the practical hedge.
Can Lendmire help arrange DSCR financing for an investment property in Union City?
Yes. Lendmire arranges DSCR cash-out and purchase financing for Union City rentals through its wholesale lending network, and Tennessee is one of the markets its DSCR programs cover. Qualification centers on the property’s rental income rather than personal income documentation, subject to lender guidelines.
Three Signals to Track Before Pulling Cash
Union City’s refinance case turns on a few local indicators, and each can be checked over the next quarter.
1. Titan Tire staffing on Goodyear Blvd. Any hiring or cutback announcement at the former Goodyear plant flows straight into demand for rentals north of downtown.
2. The Tyson and Williams Sausage headcounts. The Obion County JEDC’s existing-industry listings and manufacturers directory are the cleanest public read on whether the city’s largest payroll is holding.
3. The next Zumper median and local days on market. A median that holds near $950 with fewer days on market would mean both firmer rents and better comps for appraisers; a slide on either would argue for a more conservative cash-out request.
If the plant keeps its crews, the hospital keeps its beds, and sales start moving faster, Union City rentals will keep producing coverage that bigger Tennessee cities can’t match at anything like these prices.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s DSCR loan programs page.
About Lendmire
Lendmire, NMLS# 2371349, is a mortgage brokerage focused on DSCR and non-QM investor financing, with loan programs available in 41 markets, including Washington, D.C. Lenders typically review DSCR eligibility around the property’s rental income rather than the borrower’s personal income documentation, subject to their guidelines, and the brokerage helps investors arrange financing for LLC-held portfolios that have grown past conventional financed-property limits. Lendmire was named a 2025 Scotsman Guide Top Workplace and recognized again as a top-ranked workplace in 2026.
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References
1. Radio NWTN
2. Zumper
3. Homes.com
4. Tyson Foods and Williams Sausage
7. Redfin
9. Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City
10. baptistonline.org — Union City Services
12. Redfin
13. Redfin’s townhome listings
18. obioncounty.org — Economic Development Work Force
20. a 2025 Scotsman Guide Top Workplace
21. Scotsman Guide — Top Workplaces 2026
This article is part of Lendmire’s investment property cash-out refinance program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: DSCR Cash Out Refinance in Union City, Tennessee: How the Rent Math Clears at 75% LTV Here · Cash Out Refinance Investment Property Johnson City Tennessee · Cash Out Refinance Investment Property in Dyersburg, Tennessee: Can the Rent Support a Cash-Out in Dyersburg?
Guides: Investment Property Cash-Out Refinance in Tennessee
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Legal disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage that arranges financing through wholesale lender relationships. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or registered financial advisor. The discussion above is general informational content about real estate financing — it is not financial, legal, or tax advice, and readers should consult licensed professionals for guidance on their individual circumstances. Loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not represent a commitment to lend. Loan terms, rates, and qualification standards vary by borrower, property, and state, and are subject to change at any time. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.