Current DSCR HELOC guidelines, updated from one source.
The figures below are the second-lien tier of the program, the line written behind a first mortgage the owner keeps, read from Lendmire’s centralized guideline source and refreshed on this page as the wholesale program changes: the combined loan-to-value ceiling, the credit score to start, the line sizes, and the draw and repayment periods.
Of the rental’s value, first mortgage included
Up to 70% combined loan-to-value is the second-lien ceiling; the ladder below shows how the ceiling and the line cap change with the credit profile and the lien position, including the first-lien tiers that reach 75%.
Credit score for a second-lien line
A 720 score opens the second-lien program; the first-lien tiers start at 700 and step up from there. At 700 and above the program’s tradeline-depth rules fall away entirely, on either lien position.
Automated valuation on lines to $400,000
$50,000 to $500,000 is the second-lien line range; an automated valuation with a property inspection serves lines to $400,000, and a full interior appraisal applies above it. A paid-off rental on a first-lien line runs to $1,000,000.
Interest-only, then 25 years of repayment
A 5-year interest-only draw period and a 25-year repayment period make up the 30-year line. The rent must cover the qualifying payment at 1.10 or better, measured on the whole line at a stressed rate.
| Credit profile | Max combined LTV | Max line | Lien position · valuation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 740+ | 70% | $500,000 | Second lien behind the first mortgage · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 720+ | 70% | $500,000 | Second lien behind the first mortgage · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 740+ | 75% | $500,000 | First lien on a paid-off rental · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 720+ | 70% | $500,000 | First lien on a paid-off rental · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 720+ | 65% | $750,000 | First lien on a paid-off rental · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 720+ | 65% | $1,000,000 | First lien on a paid-off rental · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 700+ | 70% | $500,000 | First lien on a paid-off rental · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
The 70% combined loan-to-value ceiling behind a first mortgage requires a 720 credit profile. A first-lien line on a paid-off rental starts at a 700 profile, reaches 75% loan-to-value at the top tier, and runs to $1,000,000 at 65% on lines above $500,000. The rent must cover the qualifying payment at 1.10 or better.
Current DSCR HELOC snapshot · updated October 29, 2026 · seven tier rows across both lien positions · variable rate through the draw and repayment periods · at least 80% of the line (and $50,000) drawn at closing · later draws from $5,000 · first or second lien position · vesting in the owner’s LLC allowed · no reserves required · 6 months of ownership before the line.
This page describes a wholesale program as its guidelines stand, read from one centralized source and refreshed as it changes; it does not offer credit, quote terms, or promise approval. The line a given rental supports depends on the valuation, the lease and the rent, the credit tier, the lien position, the entity, the property type, and full underwriting. No rate, index, payment, or fee appears here. Lendmire, LLC (NMLS #2371349) is a mortgage broker, not a lender, licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. Equal Housing Opportunity.
What a DSCR HELOC is — and how the rent sizes the line.
What makes a DSCR HELOC different from a refinance is that nothing about the first mortgage changes; what makes it different from an ordinary rental HELOC is that the owner’s income never enters the file. In Crested Butte, the line is written behind the first mortgage, sized by equity and tier, qualified by the rent, and vested in the owner’s name or LLC.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s DSCR HELOC program, or the statewide guide at DSCR HELOC in Colorado.
A line on the rental, behind the mortgage you keep
Think of it as a credit limit secured by the rental. During the draw period you borrow and repay as you like, paying interest only on what is out; once the draw period ends, the balance converts to a fully amortizing repayment schedule. A paid-off rental can carry the line in first position instead.
The rent qualifies the line, not your tax returns
Coverage is the income test. A Crested Butte rental whose rent covers the qualifying payment at the program minimum passes it whatever the owner’s tax returns show, and the tier, the value, the seasoning, and the property list still apply; a rental whose rent falls short does not pass, however strong the owner’s income, because that income is never in the file.
Your credit tier sets the ceiling and the cap
Every tier the program offers is at or above the score at which its tradeline-depth rules are waived, so the tier sets the ceiling and the cap rather than the depth of the credit file. A Crested Butte investor with a thin personal credit file and a strong rental is still read on the score first and the rent second.
Valuation, the lease, the LLC, and closing
Lines to the valuation threshold are valued by an automated model plus a property inspection report; larger lines take a full interior appraisal, and a model that does not meet the program’s confidence standard sends the file to an appraisal as well. The lease and the rent schedule travel with the valuation.
Enter the value, the balance, and the tier, and the calculator shows the ceiling, the cap, the available line, and the valuation path. What it cannot show is the rent test; that depends on the lease, the market rent, and the lender’s qualifying payment, and it is settled in underwriting.
Crested Butte’s rental equity in figures — and how a line fits it.
The equity picture in Crested Butte starts with the market: median home value, the balance of owners and renters, and the ownership tenure that usually comes with long-held rentals. These figures describe the market; the program figures are in the snapshot above.
Read the figures as backdrop. The owner share and the tenure figures matter because they describe the pool of long-held properties, which is where rental equity lines come from. A market of transient ownership produces fewer of them, whatever its median value says.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Crested Butte rental neighborhoods, distinct equity pictures.
Crested Butte is not one equity picture. The submarkets below hold different rental stock, different ownership tenures, and different valuation questions, and each shapes what a DSCR HELOC looks like there.
Year-round primary residences
Owners who live in Crested Butte year-round and want a line on their own home are pointed to the HELOC program for primary residences; this program reads a lease, and an owner-occupied home has none. On a one-unit rental at Crested Butte’s median home value, the second-lien ceiling puts total liens near $707,420 — the line is what remains after the first mortgage balance, and the rent must cover the qualifying payment; a paid-off rental on a first-lien line sits above the second-lien ceiling.
Waterfront and view rentals
A waterfront Crested Butte rental presents the cap, the appraisal, and the flood policy as its three questions; the rent test on a long-term leased property is usually the easy one, and the equity rarely binds. The median owner-occupied home value in Crested Butte runs near $1,010,600 on the latest Census estimate.
Vacation and short-term rentals
Nightly rentals are outside the program’s rent test. The Crested Butte investor with both a vacation rental and a leased rental opens the line on the leased one, or asks the loan officer which other route reads the vacation property. Median household income in Crested Butte sits near $74,479 on the latest Census estimate.
Entity-held resort rentals
An LLC that holds a leased Crested Butte rental opens the line without deeding the property out; the entity papers, the lease, the valuation, and the guarantors’ credit make up the file. Roughly 482 Crested Butte households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 68% of all households, the pool a rental equity line is written for.
Long-term rentals in a resort market
The program reads a lease, so the resort-market rental that fits is the one leased long-term: a year-round tenant, a lease in place, and a rent the appraiser’s schedule supports. A Crested Butte property run as a vacation rental is a different file. Crested Butte is home to about 1.2K people.
Rental condominiums and condotels
A Crested Butte condominium with a year-round tenant qualifies at the condominium ceiling, the non-warrantable one at the reduced ceiling; a condotel, with its hotel-style operation, is on the ineligible list. About 32% of Crested Butte’s households rent — roughly 223 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
These sketches describe typical Crested Butte rentals, not yours. The program tables do not vary by neighborhood; the value, the balance, the lease, and the credit tier on a specific property decide the line, and the valuation settles the value.
Four ways Crested Butte landlords put a rental equity line to work.
The uses are the landlord’s, not the lender’s: the program does not restrict what a Crested Butte owner draws for. These four are the common ones, and each shows why a revolving line behind the first mortgage fits better than a lump sum that replaces it.
Rehab and repairs staged over months
Between tenants a Crested Butte rental often needs more than a coat of paint. A line funds the turn without a refinance, and the rent that qualified the line resumes when the new lease starts.
A standing reserve for the portfolio
Portfolio owners treat a line as the working-capital account for their Crested Butte rentals: draw for the surprise, repay from the next month’s rents, draw again. The line is qualified on one property’s rent and available for all of them.
Bridge a sale, a tax bill, or a buyout
Timing problems are capital problems. A DSCR HELOC on a seasoned Crested Butte rental turns a timing problem into a draw and a repayment, without a refinance and without the owner’s personal income in the file.
Consolidate business debt at the property level
Consolidation on a rental line keeps the debt where the asset is: secured by the property that produced the need, repaid over the repayment period, with the owner’s personal income never part of the file.
Estimate your Crested Butte rental’s available credit line before requesting a quote.
The calculator below sizes a DSCR HELOC on a Crested Butte rental the way the program does: the value times the ceiling for your credit tier and lien position, minus the balance already on the property, capped at the maximum line. It shows the valuation path and the closing draw, and it names the rent test the lender applies without pretending to run it, because the qualifying payment is set in underwriting.
Crested Butte rental available-equity calculator
Value, balance, credit tier, and lien position in; the ceiling, the cap, the available line, the closing draw, and the valuation path out. The rent test is the lender’s.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $1,010,000 rental value near Crested Butte’s median owner-occupied home value and a $455,000 modeled remaining first-mortgage balance (U.S. Census Bureau). Combined loan-to-value ceilings and line caps follow the current program tables for the lien position and credit tier selected and update from Lendmire’s centralized guideline source on the live page. The rent test is the lender’s: the gross rent must cover the qualifying payment on the whole line at the program’s coverage minimum. Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a credit decision, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The actual line amount, combined loan-to-value, and eligibility depend on the automated valuation or appraisal, the lease and the rent, the credit profile, the vesting, documentation, and full underwriting by the selected wholesale lender; the rate, the payment, and any costs are provided in writing by a licensed loan officer. Minimum score, line-size, coverage, and draw requirements follow the current program snapshot shown on this page. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
Same rental equity, four very different ways to reach it.
The same Crested Butte rental can reach its equity four ways, and they differ in what qualifies the borrower and what happens to the first mortgage. A DSCR HELOC qualifies on the rent and leaves the first mortgage alone; the other three read the owner’s income, the owner’s deposits, or replace the mortgage outright.
A rent-qualified line, an income-qualified line, a cash-out refinance, or a bank statement line.
Qualified on the rental’s rent, vested personally or in an LLC, and written behind the first mortgage you keep or first on a paid-off rental. The owner’s tax returns and debt-to-income ratio stay out of the file. The trade: a lower ceiling and a higher credit floor than the income-qualified line, and a rent that must cover the qualifying payment.
Qualified on the owner’s documented income and debt-to-income ratio, vested in the owner’s own name, and written behind the first mortgage. It reaches a higher ceiling than the rent-qualified line and starts at a lower credit floor, at the cost of the full income file. For the income-qualified route, see Lendmire’s investment property HELOC.
The refinance is the lump-sum route: one closing, one new first mortgage, the equity out at once. The line is the revolving route: the old mortgage stays, the equity comes out as needed. Which is cheaper depends on the rate you hold and how much you need. For the refinance route, see the investment property cash-out refinance.
Deposits as income, a ratio, personal vesting: the bank statement line is the alt-doc route for the owner. The DSCR HELOC is the alt-doc route for the property. A Crested Butte landlord with both options compares the ceiling, the floor, and the paperwork of each. For the deposit-qualified route, see the bank statement HELOC.
What to prepare for a Crested Butte scenario review.
The file reads the property and the credit report. Gather these before the scenario review, and the prequalification has what it needs; nothing on the list is a tax return.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the lease, the entity, the property, the lien position, and the credit profile. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the line.
Before relying on a figure, read these. They are the places a Crested Butte rental line differs from the clean example in the calculator, and each carries a check to run first.
Use these checks to keep the Crested Butte file clean and fundable.
Three things decide most Crested Butte files: the credit tier, which sets the ceiling and the cap; the valuation, which sets the value the ceiling applies to; and the rent, which decides how much of the line the property carries. The rest are gates: lien position, vesting, seasoning, the property list, and the listing history.
- Confirm the vesting: Which title holders and first-mortgage borrowers will sign as non-borrowing owners.
- Confirm the dates: The date of the most recent purchase or refinance of the property, note date to note date.
- Confirm the history: Whether any solar agreement carries a lien on title.
Title in your name or your LLC
A trust on title is a different question from an entity on title: a land trust is on the program’s ineligible list, and a revocable trust is read by the lender case by case. A Crested Butte rental in an LLC is written in the LLC’s name; a rental in a land trust is not written at all.
The seasoning clock on purchases and refinances
A rental bought or refinanced inside the program’s seasoning window is not eligible yet, measured note date to note date, and ownership seasons on its own clock from the purchase settlement. A Crested Butte investor who closed this spring plans the line for after the window.
A recent listing, a solar lien, a declining market
A declining-market designation on the valuation trims the ceiling by a set number of points, a listing inside the program’s window makes the rental ineligible until the window passes, and a solar lien on title stops the closing until it is cleared. Each is the appraiser’s or the title company’s call, and a Crested Butte file near the ceiling can lose the top of the line to the first of them.
Second lien behind the mortgage, or first lien on a paid-off rental
Behind a first mortgage the line is a second lien with the second-lien ceiling, floor, and cap. On a rental with no mortgage the line stands first, starts at a lower floor, reaches a higher ceiling, and runs to a larger cap. A Crested Butte owner chooses by what is on the property today.
The rent must cover the qualifying payment
The lender divides the gross rent by a fully amortizing payment on the entire line at a stressed rate, and the quotient must reach the program’s coverage minimum. A Crested Butte rental with deep equity but modest rent qualifies for a smaller line than the ceiling allows; the rent, not the equity, caps it.
From a Crested Butte rental prequalification to a funded line.
The steps below are the program’s, in order. A Crested Butte landlord who gathers the lease, the mortgage statement, and the entity papers before the scenario review has the first two steps in hand at the start; the valuation and the title work set the pace of the rest.
Scenario review
The review starts with four numbers and one document: value, balance, score, rent, and the lease. From them the loan officer reads the tier, the ceiling, the cap, and whether the rent carries the line, and names anything in the file that needs a check before prequalification.
Prequalification
Prequalification is where the file becomes real: the report replaces the estimate, the lease replaces the owner’s rent figure, and the entity’s papers are read. What comes out is a line amount, a lien position, and a short list of items to verify.
Verification and valuation
This is the step the owner does not control: the valuation lands where the comparables put it, and the title search shows what is recorded. A Crested Butte file whose value or lease comes in under the estimate is re-sized here, not declined, unless a gate fails.
Closing and funding
The last step is the simplest: signatures, recording, the closing draw. A Crested Butte landlord leaves closing with a recorded line behind the first mortgage, a draw in hand, and the balance of the line available on request through the draw period.
A brokerage that matches the line to the rental.
Three reasons Crested Butte landlords bring a rental line to a broker rather than a bank: the program is placed through select wholesale lenders, the file is read against more than one route, and the entity on title is not a problem to be solved before the conversation starts.
Four routes, the right one quoted
Every Crested Butte rental file is read against the DSCR HELOC, the investment-property HELOC, the DSCR cash-out refinance, and the bank statement HELOC. The ceiling, the floor, the paperwork, and what happens to the first mortgage are compared before an offer is written.
The entity stays on title
An LLC-vested Crested Butte rental does not have to be deeded to a personal name to borrow against it. The program writes the line in the entity’s name, the members sign as guarantors, and the deed never moves; the loan officer reads the entity papers at the scenario review so nothing surprises the title search.
Licensed, in writing, the lender never named
Lendmire is the broker, not the lender. The program is placed with select lenders in the wholesale network; the figures on this page are program parameters subject to underwriting, and the rate and the payment on a Crested Butte line are quoted in writing, never on a web page.
Trusted by landlords & investors alike.
Crested Butte DSCR HELOC FAQs
Short answers to the questions a DSCR HELOC raises in Crested Butte: what it is, who it fits, what qualifies, and what it costs the owner in paperwork.
What is a DSCR HELOC?
A home equity line of credit on a rental property that qualifies on the property’s rent instead of the owner’s income. The lender divides the gross rent by the qualifying payment on the line, the quotient must reach the program’s coverage minimum, and the owner’s tax returns and debt ratio never enter the file. The line sits behind the first mortgage or stands first on a paid-off rental, and title may stay in an LLC.
Can the rental stay in my LLC?
Yes, for a rental. The program allows entity vesting on investment property only, so the LLC stays on the deed and the line records against it. What the lender wants is the entity’s paperwork and the guarantors’ credit, not a deed out of the entity.
How is the rent test calculated?
Gross rent over the qualifying payment. The lender uses the lesser of the lease rent and the market rent, stresses the rate, amortizes the full line, and reads the ratio against the program minimum. Where the rent falls short, the line is reduced until the ratio clears, or the file does not qualify.
Is an appraisal required?
A valuation is required on every line; a full appraisal is required on the larger ones. A Crested Butte owner with a line under the threshold usually sees an automated model and an inspection rather than an appraiser’s full report, unless the model’s confidence falls short.
How do the draw period and repayment work?
The line has two lives: an interest-only draw period and an amortizing repayment period, shown in the snapshot. A large share of the line funds at closing by program rule, later draws are at least the program minimum, and the payment rises when the repayment period begins.
Do I need reserves or cash to close?
No reserves and no cash to close. That is part of the program’s appeal to a landlord whose cash is in the properties rather than the bank: the equity and the rent carry the file, and nothing is held back as a reserve requirement.
What is the rate on a DSCR HELOC?
The line carries a variable rate, set in writing at the time for the specific Crested Butte file. No rate, index, payment, or fee appears on these pages by policy; what the pages carry is the program’s structure and its eligibility parameters.
Can the line be a first lien on a paid-off rental?
Yes. With no first mortgage the line stands first and the program reads it on its own column: lower credit floor, higher ceiling, larger cap, full title policy. The rent still has to cover the qualifying payment on the whole line.
What property types qualify?
One-to-four-unit residential rentals on the program’s eligible list, with condominiums at the condominium ceiling. Rural designation, commercial or agricultural use, condotels, leaseholds, and the modular and log-home classes are excluded; the property list is read before the value.
Do I need tax returns or W-2s?
No. The rent qualifies the line. The trade for leaving the income file out is a lower ceiling and a higher credit floor than the income-qualified rental line, and a rent that must cover the line’s qualifying payment at the program minimum.
A line behind the mortgage you keep, in the LLC you keep.
In a short scenario review the rental’s equity, rent, and entity are read against the program: ceiling, cap, lien position, rent test. You leave with a line amount and a short list, not an application.
This guide covers Crested Butte — for the statewide ceilings, tiers, and state rules, see DSCR HELOC in Colorado, part of Lendmire’s DSCR HELOC program.
Nearby markets in Colorado: Aspen · Vail · Breckenridge · Telluride · Grand Junction · Winter Park · Steamboat Springs · Lakewood
Other loan programs in Crested Butte: DSCR Loans in Crested Butte, CO · Super Jumbo DSCR Loans in Crested Butte, CO · Short-Term Rental Loans in Crested Butte, CO · Investment Property Cash-Out Refinance in Crested Butte, CO · Hard Money Loans in Crested Butte, CO · Bank Statement Loans in Crested Butte, CO · Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loans in Crested Butte, CO · Bank Statement HELOC in Crested Butte, CO · Investment Property HELOC in Crested Butte, CO