The Quick Read: A DSCR price sheet is a lender’s private pricing grid. It starts from a base price for a standard file and then adds or subtracts for every way your loan differs, such as credit tier, leverage, coverage ratio, property type, loan purpose, and prepayment structure. Reading it means finding your row and column, summing the adjustments, and deciding whether to take the cost as rate or as points.
- Every sheet starts from a base, then stacks adjustments for each deviation.
- Credit score, leverage, and coverage ratio form the main grid; property type, purpose, and prepay sit in side tables.
- Tier boundaries behave like cliffs, so one point can move a file into a different band.
- Prepayment terms are a hold-period decision, not a trap.
- Compare total cost across offers, not just the headline number.
DSCR loans qualify primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Across the wholesale network Lendmire works with, sheets look different on the surface but share the same logic. This guide walks through that logic start to finish. For the broader picture, see Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide.
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Rate source: Freddie Mac 30-yr average via FRED® — Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis · effective Oct 15, 2026
Prefilled with starting assumptions — enter your own rent or nightly figures, taxes, insurance, and HOA for a more accurate picture.
Program parameters update from Lendmire’s centralized guideline source. Taxes and insurance are editable estimates.
As of Oct 15, 2026 · General Freddie Mac market benchmark, not a Lendmire loan offer. Rent, nightly rate, occupancy, taxes, and insurance are editable estimates. Short-term rental figures are estimates only and vary significantly by season, property type, management approach, and local short-term-rental rules — confirm local regulations before relying on them. Qualifying income for short-term rentals varies by program — some use appraisal market rent, others use documented STR history or projections — and is confirmed in underwriting. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
Key Terms Defined
Price sheet: A lender’s grid showing base pricing and the adjustments that move it up or down for each loan feature.
Par: The pricing level on a price sheet where a loan carries neither a charge nor a credit for the pricing itself, so nothing extra is paid or received at closing.
Adjustment (LLPA): A loan-level price adjustment, meaning an add-on or credit tied to one feature of your file.
Bucket (tier): A range of credit score, leverage, or coverage that prices together, such as one band of scores.
Overlay: A lender-specific rule, such as a leverage cap for a property type, that sits on top of the grid.
Lock: A commitment to hold quoted pricing for a set period. Sheets reprice over time, so the quote holds only for that period.
On terminology: the word LLPA also names the published grids used for conventional agency loans. DSCR loans are not agency products. Each DSCR lender builds its own matrix, so never assume a conventional table applies.
What Is a DSCR Price Sheet, and Who Sees It?
A DSCR price sheet is the pricing matrix a lender or investor publishes to brokers. A broker reads the wholesale version. A borrower usually sees a quote built from it, which includes the broker’s compensation. No regulator publishes these sheets, so formats vary.
The practical point: two sheets can look nothing alike and still price a file similarly. Learn the structure and you can read any of them.
How Is the Sheet Laid Out?
Most sheets follow the same order. Read them in this sequence:
1. Eligibility and program header. Which program, which property types, what loan sizes.
2. The base grid. Usually credit tier across one axis and leverage band down the other.
3. Adjustment tables. Coverage band, property type, purpose, loan size, prepayment, interest-only.
4. Lock and expiration table. How long pricing holds.
5. Footnotes. Where the exceptions hide. Read them.
Practitioners describe the grid as a matrix, not a straight line. Coverage and leverage interact, so the same coverage ratio prices differently at 70% leverage than at 80%. Leverage, reserves, and pricing vary by lender and program; the final terms follow the full file review.
How Does the Base Price Work?
Each sheet starts from a par price for a stock file. The stock profile differs by lender, so never assume which one a given sheet uses. Every adjustment moves the price from that starting point.
Price and rate trade off. You can pay the adjustments as points at closing, or accept a higher note rate that prices at par. Most sheets let you pick a combination at lock. Neither is better in the abstract. Paying points makes sense for a long hold. Taking the higher rate makes sense if you may sell or refinance soon.
What Adjustments Show Up, and Why?
Each line exists because the lender sees added risk or lower resale liquidity. Here is how the main ones work in direction and logic. Exact amounts vary by lender, so no figures appear here.
| Adjustment | What triggers it | Usual direction |
|---|---|---|
| Credit tier | Score band below the top tier | Higher cost as score drops |
| Leverage band | Higher LTV | Higher cost as LTV rises |
| Coverage band | Lower rent-to-PITIA ratio | Higher cost as coverage falls |
| Property type | 2–4 units, condos, STRs | Often an add-on vs. a single-family home |
| Purpose | Cash-out vs. purchase | Cash-out usually costs more |
| Loan size | Very small or very large balances | Add-on at the extremes |
| Prepayment | Shorter or no penalty | No-prepay costs more |
| Interest-only | IO period elected | Usually an add-on |
Across the network, purchase leverage on most files lands at 75%–80% LTV, and select high-leverage programs reach 85% LTV on a purchase with roughly a 700+ score. Cash-out refinance tops out around 75% LTV on investment property. Short-term-rental collateral caps lower: purchase to 75%, cash-out 70%. These caps are overlays. Pricing cannot buy you past them.
How Do Adjustments Stack?
They add together. A file with a middle credit tier, higher leverage, and thinner coverage collects an adjustment from each line. The total is the distance from par.
Two catches matter here.
Tier boundaries are cliffs. A score right at a boundary prices in that band. One point below drops you a band. If you sit a few points under a tier, a credit fix before lock can matter more than any negotiation.
The feedback loop. A higher rate raises the payment, which lowers your coverage ratio. A lower coverage ratio can push you into a costlier band. Your first pricing pass is therefore a draft. Re-run coverage after you choose rate versus points. Taking points to hold the rate down can keep the file in a better band.
Coverage itself is rent divided by PITIA (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any HOA dues). 1.00 is where many select programs start. A separate select-lender path takes coverage below 1.00, with leverage and terms adjusted. Stronger ratios open better pricing and leverage. Clearing 1.00 does not mean positive cash flow, though. Repairs, vacancy, management, utilities, and capex sit outside the calculation.
A Worked Walkthrough
This is a modeled file, not market data. No dollar amounts appear because the logic is what matters.
Say an investor buys a single-family rental at 75% LTV with a score in the middle tier and coverage near 1.20x. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
1. Start at the sheet’s par for the stock file.
2. Add the credit-tier adjustment for the middle band.
3. Add the leverage adjustment for 75% LTV.
4. Check the coverage band. At roughly 1.20x it may sit in a neutral or mildly favorable band.
5. Add the purpose and property-type lines. A purchase of a single-family home usually adds little.
6. Add the prepayment line, which may be a credit if the investor accepts a stepdown penalty.
7. Sum the lines. The net is the file’s distance from par.
8. Choose: pay that distance as points, or take a higher rate that lands at par.
9. Re-run coverage with the chosen rate. If it slipped a band, revisit the choice.
Now consider restructuring. Lowering leverage a few points, or raising rent through a stronger lease, can improve several lines at once: the leverage adjustment, the coverage band, and sometimes the maximum leverage tier. That is why the sheet works as a decision tool, not just a lookup.
A larger down payment lowers the payment and can lift coverage. It never erases leverage caps, credit floors, reserve rules, or property eligibility. The strongest files clear both tests: enough equity and enough rental coverage.
DSCR vs. conventional financing
There are two common ways to finance an investment property, 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.
Prepayment, Lock, and Structure Choices
Prepayment is the adjustment investors misjudge most. A penalty is a priced trade-off, not a trap. The most common form is a stepdown such as 5/4/3/2/1, meaning 5% of the balance in year one, 4% in year two, and so on to 1% in year five, then nothing.
| Choice | Pricing effect | Fits an investor who… |
|---|---|---|
| Long stepdown prepay | Best pricing | Plans a long hold |
| Short prepay (e.g., 3/2/1) | Middle pricing | Might refinance in a few years |
| No prepay | Highest cost | Expects a quick exit or refinance |
If you run a buy-rehab-refinance strategy and expect to refinance early, price the no-prepay and short-prepay options. A long penalty can erase its own savings. If you plan to hold for years, the longer penalty usually pays you back. Hard penalties apply on any payoff; soft penalties apply only to a sale or only to a refinance. Some notes allow a limited annual paydown without penalty. Read the note, because terms vary.
Structure options also move the price. The spine is the 30-year fixed. Extended terms (40-year) and interest-only periods are available through select lenders in the network, and ARM structures exist for investors who want them. Above $2,500,000, the network generally holds to 30-year fixed.
Why Prepay Rules Are Different Here
DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. The CFPB’s Truth in Lending compilation exempts credit extended primarily for a business purpose from Regulation Z. The Federal Register final rule on ability-to-repay applies to consumer credit secured by a dwelling, and its prepayment limits are confined to certain qualified mortgages.
The result: steep prepay structures can be priced into a DSCR sheet, and consumer-style prepay limits generally do not reach these loans. State law can still limit penalties, and rules vary by state. Business-purpose status is judged on the facts of each loan, so read your note carefully.
Comparing Two Quotes
Compare total cost, not the headline number. Line them up on these points:
- Points and origination fees on both
- Prepay structure and years
- Lock length and what happens if it expires
- Leverage tier you actually land in
- Coverage ratio at the quoted rate
- Whether the quote is a “starting at” figure or built from your file
Common misreadings to avoid: taking the best-case row as your pricing, ignoring the lock period, treating prepay as free, and assuming a score at the minimum prices the same as one a tier higher. Each tier changes cost, not just eligibility.
Questions to Ask Your Loan Officer
1. Which tier did my score, leverage, and coverage land in?
2. Which adjustment is costing me the most?
3. What changes if I lower leverage a few points or raise documented rent?
4. What do the no-prepay and shortest prepay options look like?
5. How long does the lock hold, and what happens if it lapses?
6. Does any footnote or overlay apply to my property type?
What Else Moves Eligibility Beyond Price
Pricing and eligibility are separate screens. A file can price well and still miss a leverage or reserve rule.
- Credit: a 620 floor exists in parts of the network, most programs want around 660, and 700+ unlocks the strongest leverage tiers.
- Loan size: up to $3,000,000 on standard programs, with smaller balances routing through select lenders.
- Reserves: commonly around 6 months of PITIA, stepping up to about 9 months above $1,500,000. Conservative rate-and-term files at modest leverage can see reserves waived, so confirm on your file.
- Property types: manufactured homes (single- and double-wide), log homes, and barndominiums are not offered in the network.
- Cash-out: about 6 months of seasoning is the common expectation.
Programs change, and every file is underwritten individually. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a price sheet the same as a rate sheet?
Mostly, yes. Practitioners use both terms for the lender’s pricing grid. Some sheets show a price figure alongside each rate, and that price is what the adjustments move. Either way, the grid is the lender’s private matrix, so your quote comes from it rather than appearing on it.
Does the LLPA on a DSCR sheet mean the same thing as on a conventional loan?
The label is shared, but the grids are not. Agency-style loan-level adjustments follow published tables. DSCR lenders build their own, so the buckets, direction, and size of each line differ from one lender to the next.
How often does pricing change?
Sheets reprice over time, so a quote holds only for the lock period. If you need stable pricing while you finish a purchase, ask about lock length before you commit to a structure.
Should I pay points or take a higher rate?
It depends on your hold period and your coverage margin. Points suit a long hold. A higher rate at par suits a shorter hold, but it lowers coverage, so check that the file stays in the same band.
How do I lower my adjustments?
Move up a credit tier, lower leverage, raise documented rent, or accept a longer prepay period. The first three change several lines at once. Confirm any change against the lender’s current guidelines.
Next Step
If you are buying or refinancing a rental property and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire, a mortgage broker arranging DSCR financing across 41 markets, including Washington, D.C., can help you compare DSCR loan options based on the property income, credit profile, leverage, and investor goals. For a deeper look at qualification, see DSCR loan requirements for investment properties.
Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
About Lendmire
A DSCR-focused mortgage broker, Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) places investor financing across 41 markets — 40 states plus Washington, D.C. — with DSCR eligibility generally reviewed by the lender on property cash flow instead of tax returns, subject to lender guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in 2025 and 2026.
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Informational only. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
References
1. CFPB Truth in Lending Act compilation
2. Federal Register ATR/QM final rule
This article is part of Lendmire’s DSCR loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Current Carrier vs Re-Quoted Coverage Before a DSCR Refinance · Can You Rent a DSCR-Financed Property to a Family Member? · Can a Flipper With Five Exits Get Better Terms on a DSCR Pool?
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
Required disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) operates as a licensed mortgage broker, not a direct lender or depository. The discussion in this article is general in nature and should not be relied upon as financial, legal, or tax advice — every investment scenario is unique and should be reviewed by a qualified professional. Any loan inquiry is subject to lender underwriting, and this article is not a commitment to lend or a guarantee of approval. Mortgage rates, loan terms, and program guidelines vary by borrower, property, and state, and may change without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. Verify licensure at NMLS Consumer Access.