Can I Refinance An Investment Rental Property With HARP — The Quick Read: No. HARP does not exist anymore, for any property type, including rentals. The program expired at the end of 2018, and its direct replacements are either shut down or sitting dormant on paper. If you’re holding a rental property today and looking for a refinance path, the working options are a conventional agency loan sized to your personal income, or a DSCR loan sized to the property’s own rent.
That’s the short version. Here’s what actually happened to HARP, why it did cover rentals while it was alive, and what an investor uses in its place now.
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Key Terms Defined
A few terms come up throughout this piece — get these down and the rest reads clean.
HARP — the Home Affordable Refinance Program, a crisis-era refinance tool created in 2009 to help homeowners with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans refinance even when they owed more than their home was worth.
Underwater — when a mortgage balance is higher than the property’s current market value, meaning the owner has negative equity.
LTV (loan-to-value) — the loan amount divided by the property’s value, expressed as a percentage; a $300,000 loan on a $400,000 property is 75% LTV. Final terms depend on lender guidelines, property type, leverage, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
Business-purpose loan — a loan made for an investment, commercial, or rental purpose rather than for the borrower’s own household use; these loans sit outside the standard consumer-mortgage disclosure rules.
Seasoning — the amount of time a lender wants a borrower to have owned or held a loan before allowing a new refinance transaction.
DSCR (debt-service-coverage ratio) — a comparison of a rental property’s monthly income against its own housing payment, used to review a loan on the property’s cash flow rather than the owner’s personal income.
Is HARP Still Around?
It isn’t. HARP officially expired on December 31, 2018, and no new applications have gone through since. The program was built by the Federal Housing Finance Agency together with the U.S. Treasury Department, launched in 2009 under the Obama-era Making Home Affordable initiative, specifically to help homeowners refinance when falling property values or thin mortgage insurance access had locked them out of a normal refinance.
That mission made sense in 2009 and 2010, when a huge share of U.S. mortgages were underwater after the housing crash. By the mid-2010s, home values had recovered enough that the pool of eligible borrowers shrank fast, and the program was retired rather than extended again. It’s been closed for years now — long enough that a surprising number of older blog posts and lender landing pages still describe it as active. It isn’t, and hasn’t been for a while.
Did HARP Ever Cover Rental Properties?
Yes — investment properties were explicitly eligible under HARP, right alongside primary residences and second homes. An estimated one in seven HARP loans went to an investor or landlord during the program’s run, so this wasn’t a fringe use case; it was a meaningful slice of total volume.
The eligibility structure differed slightly by occupancy type, and it’s worth laying out clearly since this is where most confusion still lives:
| Occupancy Type | HARP-Era Eligibility | Unit Count Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Primary residence | Eligible | 1 unit |
| Second/vacation home | Eligible | 1 unit |
| Investment/rental property | Eligible | 1–4 units |
Notice the rental category actually had more flexibility on unit count than a second home — a duplex, triplex, or fourplex held as a rental could qualify, where a second home was capped at one unit. If a property had started life as a primary residence and later became a rental — the classic “accidental landlord” situation — eligibility generally followed how the property was being used at the time of the refinance application, not its history.
None of this matters for a new application today, obviously. But it explains why so many landlords who refinanced through HARP a decade ago assumed a version of it would always be available for rentals. It was designed around a specific equity crisis, not around rental cash flow generally, and once that crisis passed, so did the program.
There were hard gates on eligibility that had nothing to do with occupancy type. The underlying mortgage had to have been purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac before May 31, 2009 — an absolute cutoff, not a guideline. The borrower had to be current on payments and had to have kept the property in decent condition; delinquent borrowers or people who’d already walked away from a property didn’t qualify. Government-insured loans — FHA, VA, USDA, and jumbo loans that fell outside agency limits — were never eligible for HARP at all, regardless of occupancy or equity position. Later enhancements, rolled out starting in November 2011, removed the loan-to-value ceiling entirely for fixed-rate refinances and waived the new-appraisal requirement in many cases where a reliable automated valuation was available.
What Replaced HARP?
Two programs were built to fill the gap: Fannie Mae’s High LTV Refinance Option (HIRO) and Freddie Mac’s Enhanced Relief Refinance Mortgage (FMERR). Both are effectively shelved today. FMERR expired in September 2019. HIRO is still written into Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide as a technical eligibility path, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac jointly suspended these Streamline Refinance programs on June 30, 2021, citing extremely low volume and the effect of the Revised General QM Rule. The two agencies have reportedly been discussing whether or how to bring the programs back — but as of now, “currently suspended” is the accurate status, not “active.”
Even setting the suspension aside, HIRO was never architected around rental cash flow the way a DSCR loan is. It existed for Fannie Mae borrowers who were current on payments but whose LTV exceeded the max allowed for a standard limited cash-out refinance — loans originated on or after October 1, 2017, with at least 15 months of seasoning required between the old note date and the new one. All Fannie-eligible property types were permitted, with a few carve-outs like condo/co-op hotels, houseboat projects, and timeshares. It’s still a personal-income, DTI-based product at its core. That’s the real reason it never became a go-to rental refinance tool even when it was fully operational — it qualifies the borrower, not the property.
Why a HARP-Style Refinance Still Gets Rejected Today
Here’s the pattern worth understanding even outside the HARP conversation entirely: a landlord can meet every published eligibility rule on a conventional agency refinance and still get declined. That’s not a myth — it happens constantly, and it has nothing to do with HARP specifically.
Conventional refinances run on the borrower’s personal debt-to-income ratio. An investor holding three or four mortgaged properties often shows a DTI that looks stretched on paper, even when every property cash flows comfortably on its own. Automated underwriting systems can flag or reject a high-LTV or high-DTI rental file even when the agency’s own published guidelines would technically allow it, because lenders layer their own overlays — credit, reserves, documentation — on top of the baseline rules. The published rulebook and the lender’s actual appetite are two different things.
This is exactly the gap that pushed rental refinancing toward a different underwriting model entirely — one that skips personal DTI and asks a simpler question: does the property’s rent cover its own payment?
The Modern Path: DSCR Refinancing for Rental Properties
That question is the whole basis of a DSCR loan. Instead of comparing the borrower’s income to their total debt, a DSCR loan compares the rental income the property produces against the property’s own monthly housing obligation — principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any HOA dues. Clear that number and the loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines, without pulling traditional personal-income documentation or W-2s into the file the way a conventional refinance would. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide walks through the mechanics in more depth if this is new territory.
DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they’re business-purpose investor loans, they’re reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage — which is exactly why they sidestep the personal-DTI bottleneck that trips up so many landlord refinances on the agency side.
Here’s what that looks like across the wholesale lender network Lendmire works with, in practical terms. On a cash-out refinance, leverage typically tops out around 75% LTV, and roughly six months of seasoning — ownership time since purchase — is the common expectation before a lender will consider pulling equity back out. A 1.00 coverage ratio is where select programs set their floor, meaning the rent needs to at least match the payment on paper; it’s not a universal standard across every lender, and stronger coverage generally opens better leverage and pricing. Credit requirements run in tiers: a 620 floor shows up in parts of the network, most programs want something closer to 660, and clearing 700 tends to unlock the strongest leverage available.
Loan sizing runs from smaller balances handled by select lenders in the network up through roughly $3,000,000 on standard programs; above about $2,500,000, most lenders in the network hold to 30-year fixed structures rather than adjustable terms. Reserve requirements vary by lender, leverage, and loan size — commonly landing around six months of PITIA held in reserve, sometimes waived on conservative rate-and-term files at modest leverage under $1,500,000, and stepping up toward nine months on larger loans above that threshold.
One thing worth sitting with here: clearing a 1.00 coverage ratio is not the same thing as positive cash flow. DSCR only measures rent against the property’s payment — it doesn’t account for vacancy, repairs, property management fees, or capital expenses. A property can clear 1.00 on paper and still run tight once real operating costs hit the books. That distinction matters more than the ratio itself.
Coverage below 1.00 isn’t automatically a dead end, either. Select lenders in the network still work with sub-1.00 files, though leverage and terms adjust to compensate. A separate no-ratio structure also exists through select lenders — generally reserved for borrowers who already own a primary residence — where the deal isn’t sized against a coverage number at all. Both paths run on a case-by-case basis, subject to credit, reserves, and property review.
For an owner sitting on built-up equity, a cash-out DSCR refinance is often what someone would have used HARP for a decade ago, minus the underwater-equity requirement entirely — you’re pulling equity out, not rescuing negative equity. Lendmire’s coverage of using a cash-out refinance to buy the next investment property and pulling equity from a rental via cash-out refinance both dig into that mechanic further. For an owner weighing whether to refinance at all versus sell the asset, this comparison of refinancing against selling a rental property lays out that decision directly.
Short-Term Rentals Follow a Different Path
If the property in question is a short-term rental rather than a leased-out unit, the numbers shift. Purchase leverage on an STR typically caps around 75% LTV, refinances generally run closer to 70%, and cash-out on an STR also tends to land near 70%. Expect a credit score closer to 700, roughly 12 months of hosting history behind the property, and a 1.00 coverage floor applied separately on both purchase and refinance scenarios — the two aren’t blended into one number. Underwriting on these files typically leans on platform booking history or projected revenue data rather than a signed 12-month lease, since a nightly rental doesn’t fit the standard rent-schedule format. Short-term rental rules can also vary by city, county, HOA, and property type, so confirming local rules before relying on projected rental income matters as much as the financing side.
What Landlords Should Have Ready
A DSCR refinance file looks different from a HARP-era file, but it’s not more complicated — just built around different documents. Expect to gather:
- Current mortgage statement and payoff information
- Proof of property insurance
- Lease agreement or rent roll for a long-term rental, or platform booking history for an STR
- Entity formation documents if the property is titled to an LLC, subject to program eligibility
- Bank statements supporting reserve requirements
- A credit report pull for the borrower These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
The appraisal does double duty here too. When a subject property’s rental income factors into qualification, the appraiser typically documents that income using a standardized rent-schedule form for a one-unit property, or a comparable operating income form for a two-to-four unit property — a convention that carries over into non-agency DSCR underwriting even though these loans aren’t sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
It’s also worth knowing the space these loans operate in isn’t a fringe corner of the mortgage market anymore. Non-QM loans — the category DSCR falls under — made up about 5% of all mortgage originations, up from 3% a few years earlier, and average non-QM production is now landing around 75% LTV with a 776 average credit score, according to Scotsman Guide. That’s credit quality in the same neighborhood as conforming borrowers, not the subprime reputation the category used to carry. Investor-owned homes now make up roughly 20% of all U.S. home sales, and brokers report DSCR demand climbing right alongside that trend, per Scotsman Guide’s coverage of investor-owned home sales. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
Because rental refinances are business-purpose transactions, they’re generally exempt from the consumer disclosure rules — Loan Estimates, Closing Disclosures, and similar timing requirements — that apply to owner-occupied mortgages. Under Regulation Z, credit extended primarily for a business or investment purpose falls outside that framework, per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Reg Z commentary. That exemption isn’t automatic just because a form says “business purpose,” either — regulators weigh several factors, including how much of the borrower’s income comes from the property and the size of the transaction, per Compliance Alliance’s breakdown of Reg Z and investment properties. For an owner-occupied property held partly as a rental, that exemption threshold shifts by unit count — generally more than two units for acquisition, more than four units for improvement financing.
Tax treatment on a rental refinance can depend on how the funds are used and how title is held; keeping clean records and talking to a qualified tax professional before assuming any deduction is the smart move here, not a guess.
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) arranges DSCR investor loans through a wholesale lending network spanning 39 states plus Washington, D.C. — as a broker, not a direct lender. Every scenario above is a range, not a guarantee: qualification runs through the individual lender’s guidelines, credit profile, reserves, and property review, and program terms shift regularly across the network. Anyone weighing a rental refinance can reach Lendmire at 828-256-2183 or request a quote to see how a specific property’s numbers stack up.
Loan approval is never guaranteed, and nothing here is a commitment to lend. Every scenario described here is subject to individual lender approval and to borrower, property, and program guidelines that vary across the wholesale network. This article is general information only, not financial, legal, or tax advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
My property used to be my primary residence and now it’s a rental — can I use HARP on it? No, because HARP no longer exists for any property, regardless of its history. During HARP’s active years, a former primary residence converted to a rental would generally have been classified by how it was being used at the time of the refinance, but that’s a historical detail now, not a live option. Today, that same property would refinance either as a conventional rental loan or a DSCR loan based on its current rent.
Is there a minimum time I need to have owned a rental property before refinancing it now? It depends on the loan type and lender, not on any HARP-era rule. For a DSCR cash-out refinance, roughly six months of ownership seasoning is common across most lenders in Lendmire’s network before they’ll consider pulling equity out, though exact requirements vary by lender and loan scenario.
What’s the difference between a second home and an investment property for refinance purposes? Occupancy and use, not just unit count. A second home is typically a one-unit property the owner personally uses part of the year, while an investment property is held for rental income and, under DSCR programs, can run one to four units. That distinction still drives eligibility and documentation today, even outside the HARP context.
If HIRO is still listed in Fannie Mae’s guide, can I actually use it for my rental? Not right now. HIRO remains defined on paper, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suspended it in mid-2021 due to low volume, and it isn’t functioning as an active refinance channel. Even where it technically applied, it qualified the borrower’s personal income and DTI, not the rental property’s cash flow — a different underwriting approach than a DSCR refinance uses.
Do DSCR refinances require traditional personal-income documentation or a signed lease the way HARP-era loans did? No — qualification runs primarily on the property’s rental income covering its own payment, not personal income documentation, subject to lender guidelines. Lenders typically want a lease or rent roll (or booking history for a short-term rental) to verify that income, along with standard credit and reserve documentation, but traditional personal-income documentation and W-2s generally aren’t part of the file the way they are on a conventional refinance.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage brokerage built around DSCR investor lending, with programs available in 40 markets, including Washington, D.C. DSCR lenders commonly evaluate rental-income coverage instead of personal income paperwork — a practical fit for LLC-owned and multi-property investors. Terms vary by lender, property, leverage, and program. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Fannie Mae Selling Guide — High LTV Refinance Loan and Borrower Eligibility
2. Scotsman Guide — Which Groups Are Driving Non-QM Lending?
3. Scotsman Guide — Investor-Owned Homes Surge as Brokers Pivot to Nonconforming Loans
4. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Regulation Z, Comment 3(a) Interpretation
5. Compliance Alliance — Regulation Z and Investment Properties
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
- Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS# 1129696 · Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
- North Carolina Real Estate Broker · License# 343312 · Verify on NCREC
- North Carolina Insurance Producer · License# 19053198 · Property, Casualty, Life, Health · Verify on NAIC SBS
- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
Disclosures. The information presented in this article is general market commentary, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) — not a direct lender or depository institution — and loan placement is subject to lender underwriting. Nothing in this content represents a commitment to lend. Loan terms, pricing, and program availability vary based on borrower qualifications, property characteristics, and state of subject property, and are subject to change at any time. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity requirements. Consumer access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
