The Quick Read: A super jumbo DSCR lender counts doors by looking through each LLC to the person who guarantees the loans, then adding up what that person already owes across every entity. Title sits in separate LLCs, but the exposure rolls up to one guarantor. The count that usually binds on large files is total balance, not the number of properties.
- The guarantor, not the LLC, is the unit a lender tallies.
- A fourplex is one property but four doors, and lenders may count either way.
- Across the wholesale network, up to 20 financed properties is a typical ceiling, subject to underwriting.
- Reserves, credit and leverage follow the person, so more LLCs do not reset them.
Operators see the same misunderstanding on large files. An investor splits twelve rentals into six LLCs and assumes each loan starts from zero. It does not. The lender builds a schedule of everything the guarantor owns and owes, then tests the new request against it.
This article walks through that count: what gets counted, how the schedule is built, how LLC structures change it, and where the general rule breaks. For the full program picture, see Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide.
Key Terms Defined
Door: One rentable unit. A fourplex has four doors.
Property: One parcel with one title. A fourplex is one property.
Loan: One note and mortgage. A single loan can be secured by several properties.
Entity: The LLC that holds title and signs the note.
Guarantor: The individual who signs a separate personal guaranty behind the LLC’s note.
Look-through: The lender’s habit of tracing exposure past the entity to the guarantor.
What Is a Super Jumbo DSCR Loan, and Who Sets the Line?
No regulator defines “super jumbo.” The only official size marker is the conforming loan limit. Orrick InfoBytes reports the FHFA baseline for a one-unit property at $832,750, with a high-cost ceiling of $1,249,125. HousingWire reports the same figures.
Anything above those limits is jumbo. Super jumbo is shorthand lenders use for balances above a standard program’s ceiling. In Lendmire’s network, the standard DSCR program stops at $3,000,000. The large-balance ladder carries qualified investors from $150,000 up to $10,000,000, subject to underwriting. Short-term-rental and no-ratio files stop at $2,000,000.
DSCR loans are business-purpose investor loans, reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. The loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines.
Six Things a Lender Can Count
Door, unit, property, loan, entity and guarantor are six separate counts. Different tests in the file use different ones. Mixing them up is where investors misjudge their position.
| Lender test | What it counts | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | One property’s rent vs its costs | Per property |
| Leverage | Loan vs value | Per loan |
| Reserves | Months of payment on the subject | Per file, follows guarantor |
| Exposure | Total balance or loan count | Guarantor, all entities |
| Credit | Guarantor’s score and history | Individual |
Coverage is the only test that stays at the property level. Everything else points back to the person.
How a Lender Builds Your Count, Step by Step
The lender builds the count from a schedule of real estate owned. Each step narrows from the entity to the person.
1. Entity and vesting. The LLC is the borrower and holds title. Expect the articles of organization, the operating agreement showing ownership percentages and borrowing authority, an EIN letter and a good-standing certificate. Names on the note, title and insurance must match. Entity vesting is welcome on the network’s programs, though layered entities are not.
2. Guarantor identification. The lender decides which members sign a personal guaranty. The trigger is usually an ownership share or management authority, and it varies by program. Settle the cap table before capital moves.
3. The schedule. The lender asks what the guarantor owns or has financed across every entity, personal name included. Properties in other LLCs roll up to the same guarantor because the guaranty runs to the same person.
4. The method. Some programs count loans. Others count balances. Some use both. A refinance can look like a replacement under a loan-count limit but like a larger balance under a balance limit. Ask which method applies before choosing the order of acquisitions or cash-outs.
5. Property-by-property coverage. Each loan gets its own appraisal and rent figure. Coverage of 1.00 earns full leverage on most files. Coverage from 0.75 to 0.99 is a real path through select programs to $2,000,000, with LTV and terms adjusting, subject to underwriting.
6. Reserves and liquidity. Typical reserves run 6 months of PITIA on the subject property (ITIA on interest-only), and 12 for first-time investors. On the network’s programs there are no extra reserves for other financed properties, and cash-out proceeds do not satisfy reserves above $3,000,000.
7. Settlement. The LLC signs the note and mortgage. The guarantor signs a separate guaranty. Title and hazard insurance are issued to the LLC.
Why the Guarantor Is the Real Count
An LLC does not make a loan non-recourse.
That is why the look-through exists. Splitting properties across LLCs gives liability separation at the property level, such as a tenant injury claim. It does not hide exposure from a lender who holds your guaranty on each note.
Whether an LLC-vested loan reports to personal credit varies by lender. The guaranty binds either way.
One honest gap: no outside rule spells out how a super jumbo lender aggregates a guarantor’s LLCs. The roll-up follows from the guaranty structure and from how large-balance files are reviewed. Each program’s own guidelines set the specifics.
A Worked Count Across Three LLCs
Picture an investor with three LLCs. The first holds four single-family rentals. The second holds a fourplex. The third holds two condos. Here is how the same portfolio reads six ways.
- Doors: 4 + 4 + 2 = 10 doors.
- Properties: 4 + 1 + 2 = 7 properties.
- Loans: seven if each is on its own note, or fewer if some are pooled.
- Entities: three.
- Guarantors: one.
- Balance: the sum of all seven loans, which is the number that tends to bind.
On a program that caps financed properties at 20, this investor has room. On a program that caps combined balance, a single large new request could hit the ceiling long before the property count matters. That is the pattern on super jumbo files.
Why Large Files Hit Balance Limits First
Property count rarely stops a super jumbo file. Leverage and credit tighten as the loan grows, and the lender’s total exposure to one person grows with it.
Across the wholesale network, the ladder steps down with size. Through select programs and subject to underwriting, typical ceilings run:
| Loan band | Purchase | Cash-out |
|---|---|---|
| $150K to $1M | 80% | 75% |
| $1M to $1.5M | 75% | 70% |
| $1.5M to $2M | 75% | 60% |
| $2M to $3M | 75% | 60% |
| $3M to $4M | 65% | — |
| $4M to $6M | 60% on review | — |
| $6M to $10M | 60% on review | — |
Rate-and-term refinances follow the purchase column. The top cell in the first band needs a 660 score. The $1M to $1.5M band’s top cell needs 700, and the next two bands need 720. Above $3,000,000 the program floor is 700, with a 0x30x24 housing history, 48-month event seasoning, and citizens and permanent residents only. Above $3,000,000 the overlay allows no rural property and no more than ten acres on a non-rural one. Above $2,000,000 expect two appraisals.
These bands are loan amounts, not purchase prices. Multiply price by leverage first, then read the band.
Operator note: on files like these, the stalled item is usually a guarantor’s schedule that does not reconcile with the entity documents. A property missing from the schedule, or an LLC whose operating agreement does not match who is signing, costs more time in review than any coverage shortfall. Build the schedule before the file goes in.
Pooled Notes vs Separate Notes for LLC Doors
A blanket (also called portfolio or cross-collateralized) loan is one note secured by several rentals. It changes how coverage is tested, but not who is counted.
| Factor | Separate notes | One pooled note |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage test | Each property alone | Pooled rent vs pooled debt |
| Weak property | Can hold back its own loan | Stronger properties can offset it |
| Selling one door | Pay off that note | Follows release terms |
| Guarantor view | Sum of loans | One larger loan |
Inside a pool, a rental below 1.00 coverage can sit in the file because underwriting tests the pooled coverage, the leverage and the terms. Release prices run above the property’s allocated balance, and the remaining pool must still cover its debt service. The network’s 30-year portfolio DSCR loan covers 2 to 20 properties under one note. Pooled loans do not get around the guarantor look-through.
Where the General Rule Breaks
These edge cases change the count.
- Multi-member LLCs. A minority member may or may not have to guarantee. Programs differ on the ownership trigger.
- Mixed vesting. Personal-name doors and LLC doors both go on the schedule.
- Vesting changes mid-file. Moving from personal name to an LLC after the file is in review can mean re-underwriting.
- Refinance as replacement. Under a loan-count limit it may swap one loan for another. Under a balance limit it may add to the total.
- Property type. Condos, small multifamily, short-term rentals and acreage carry their own limits. Non-warrantable condos run to 75% and $1,500,000. Short-term rentals qualify on documented operating history at a discount to gross rent, up to $2,000,000, and municipal permission is documented per property.
Manufactured and mobile homes are not reviewable on these programs.
Three Myths About Counting Doors
“The 10-property cap applies to me.” It does not. That is an agency rule. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide counts one- to four-unit properties where the borrower is personally obligated, and a two-unit property counts as one. DSCR loans are not agency products, so the rule does not govern them. It is useful only as contrast: the agency count turns on personal obligation, and the DSCR look-through turns on the guaranty.
“More LLCs means a fresh count.” The guarantor is the common thread. Exposure, credit and reserves follow the person.
“Super jumbo is a legal category.” It is not. The conforming limit is the only official marker.
A Counting Worksheet to Build Before You Apply
Build this schedule first. It is what the lender will build anyway.
- Every property, with the entity that holds title.
- Doors per property.
- The loan balance on each, and whether it sits on its own note or a pooled one.
- Ownership percentages for each LLC and who signs the guaranty.
- Current lease or rent evidence per door.
- Liquid assets, with a note that the same cash cannot be shown for two files.
- The operating agreement and good-standing certificate for each LLC.
A clean schedule leaves fewer preventable gaps in review. It does not guarantee approval, which stays subject to underwriting, credit and property review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a super jumbo DSCR lender cap the number of doors I can finance?
Usually there is a ceiling, but it is set by the program, not by a legal rule. Across the network, up to 20 financed properties is typical, subject to underwriting. On large balances, the combined balance tends to bind before the property count does.
Do separate LLCs keep my loans from being added together?
No. The lender looks through each entity to the guarantor, so the loans roll up to one person. Separate LLCs help with liability at the property level, not with exposure limits.
Does a fourplex count as one door or four?
It is one property and four doors. Which count matters depends on the test. Coverage reads the property’s rent, while exposure limits may count loans or balances. Ask the program which unit it uses.
Does a new LLC reset my reserves?
No. Reserves follow the subject property and the guarantor’s liquidity. Typical reserves run 6 months on the subject, or 12 for first-time investors, and cash-out proceeds do not satisfy them above $3,000,000.
Will my LLC loans show on my personal credit?
It varies by lender. The personal guaranty exists regardless, so plan as if the exposure is yours.
If You Are Buying or Refinancing a High-Balance Rental
If you are buying or refinancing a high-balance rental property and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare super jumbo DSCR loan options based on the property income, the loan balance, credit profile, leverage, and investor goals. For the broader sizing question, read Lendmire’s guide on how super jumbo DSCR loans work for investors with five to fifty doors in LLCs. Program details are subject to lender guidelines and underwriting, and nothing here is a commitment to lend. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s super jumbo DSCR loan programs page.
Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page presents both super jumbo programs, bank statement and DSCR, side by side.
About Lendmire
Lendmire — NMLS# 2371349 — is a mortgage brokerage specializing in DSCR investor loans, helping arrange financing across 41 markets, including Washington, D.C., through wholesale and investor-lending channels. The model centers on property-level rental income reviewed by the lender rather than W-2 documentation, subject to lender guidelines, suiting entity-owned and multi-property investors. Lendmire holds Scotsman Guide Top Mortgage Workplace recognition for 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Orrick InfoBytes, FHFA announces conforming loan limit increases
2. HousingWire, conforming loan limit
3. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-2-03
This article is part of Lendmire’s super jumbo DSCR loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Super Jumbo DSCR vs Bank Statement Loan for a Luxury Cabin · How to Qualify for a 40-Year Super Jumbo DSCR Loan · How to Qualify a Luxury Duplex on a Super Jumbo DSCR Loan
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Compliance and disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage broker and is not a direct lender, depository institution, financial advisor, or tax professional. Content in this article is general market analysis and educational information — not financial, legal, or tax advice for any specific situation. Lendmire does not guarantee loan approval; every transaction is subject to underwriting by the funding lender. Mortgage pricing and loan program guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice and vary by borrower characteristics, property type, and state regulations. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensure verification: NMLS Consumer Access.