Current DSCR HELOC guidelines, updated from one source.
Every figure in this block comes from one guideline source and updates here when the program changes. These are the second-lien terms; a first-lien line on a paid-off rental follows its own tiers, summarized under the ladder, and the rent test applies to both.
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
Lines run from $50,000 to $500,000 on a second lien and to $1,000,000 on a first lien; an automated valuation with an inspection covers lines to $400,000 in either position, and every larger line takes a full interior appraisal.
Interest-only, then 25 years of repayment
Draw for 5 years on interest-only payments, then repay over 25 years on a fully amortizing schedule, a 30-year maturity. At least 80% of the line, and $50,000, funds at closing.
| 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.
The mechanics are the same on every Chapel Hill file: the lender measures the rental’s value, subtracts the balance already secured by it, applies the ceiling for the credit tier and lien position, caps the result at the program maximum, and checks that the rent covers the qualifying payment. Four cards below walk through the parts.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s DSCR HELOC program, or the statewide guide at DSCR HELOC in North Carolina.
A line on the rental, behind the mortgage you keep
Unlike a closed-end loan, the line stays open through the draw period: fund a Chapel Hill rehab this year and a down payment next year, pay interest only on the drawn balance, and repay over the years after the draw period ends. The first mortgage, and its rate, never move.
The rent qualifies the line, not your tax returns
The rent is documented, which is why the line is never an undocumented one: the lease, three months of receipts when the lease runs above market, and the appraiser’s rent schedule. On a two-to-four-unit property one vacant unit is allowed; a single-family rental needs a lease in place.
Your credit tier sets the ceiling and the cap
The score the lender pulls decides the tier, and the tier decides the ceiling and the cap. On a second-lien line the top tiers share one ceiling and one cap; on a first-lien line the largest lines carry a reduced ceiling. Nothing in the file moves the tier except the report itself.
Valuation, the lease, the LLC, and closing
The file closes on the valuation, the lease, the credit report, title, and insurance that covers both liens. Smaller second-lien lines use an ownership-and-encumbrance report instead of a full title policy; a first-lien line always takes the full policy. No reserves and no cash to close are required.
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.
Chapel Hill’s rental equity in figures — and how a line fits it.
The equity picture in Chapel Hill 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.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. 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 Chapel Hill rental neighborhoods, distinct equity pictures.
Neighborhood by neighborhood, Chapel Hill’s rentals present different files: some with deep equity and modest rents, some with high rents and thin equity, some with valuation questions of their own. The cards below walk through them.
Established close-in rentals
In the established districts the line is rarely limited by equity; it is limited by the cap and by the rent. A Chapel Hill owner with a paid-off rental here is a first-lien file, and the ladder’s first-lien rows apply: the higher ceiling at the top tier, the standard one below it, the reduced one on the largest lines. Median household income in Chapel Hill sits near $85,989 on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit buildings
Small multi-unit buildings are where the rent test is strongest: three or four leases carry a line that a single-family rent could not. Chapel Hill’s duplexes and fourplexes qualify with one unit allowed vacant, and the larger lines take the multi-unit appraisal. Chapel Hill is home to about 62K people and sits within the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC area.
Condominium rentals
Condominium lines in Chapel Hill turn on the project review: warrantable at one ceiling, non-warrantable at a lower one, condotels not at all. The valuation reads the unit against recent unit sales in the project, and the lease carries the coverage test. The median owner-occupied home value in Chapel Hill runs near $613,700 on the latest Census estimate.
Entity-held portfolios
The entity file is the program’s reason for being in a market like Chapel Hill, where portfolios are held inside LLCs. Each line is a property file; the exposure limit and the guarantors’ credit are the portfolio-level checks. On a one-unit rental at Chapel Hill’s median home value, the second-lien ceiling puts total liens near $429,590 — 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.
High-value rentals
At the top of Chapel Hill’s rental values the binding limit is the program’s maximum line, not the ceiling. The file takes a full appraisal above the valuation threshold, and the first-lien column offers the larger cap when there is no mortgage ahead. About 53% of Chapel Hill’s households rent — roughly 11,141 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent purchases
A Chapel Hill rental bought in the last year or two is read on two clocks and narrow room: the purchase must season, the refinance if any must season, and the ceiling minus a high balance may leave little or nothing until values move. Roughly 10,048 Chapel Hill households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 47% of all households, the pool a rental equity line is written for.
Treat the submarket notes as a map of where equity and rent tend to sit across Chapel Hill, not as eligibility. The program’s property list, ceilings, and rent test are the same citywide; the inputs differ property by property.
Four ways Chapel Hill 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 Chapel Hill 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.
A standing reserve for the portfolio
Some Chapel Hill investors open a line for what has not happened yet: the furnace that fails in January, the vacancy that runs long, the assessment the association votes through. The closing draw is set by the program; the rest waits.
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.
Bridge a sale, a tax bill, or a buyout
A line bridges the gaps a portfolio produces: a partner’s buyout, a property-tax bill that lands before a sale closes, a deposit due before another rental refinances. A Chapel Hill owner draws, closes the gap, and repays when the money arrives.
Finish a value-add before the permanent loan
The rehab-then-refinance cycle runs on capital between the purchase and the permanent loan. A DSCR HELOC on an existing Chapel Hill rental supplies that capital from equity already earned, qualified on that rental’s rent.
Estimate your Chapel Hill rental’s available credit line before requesting a quote.
The calculator below sizes a DSCR HELOC on a Chapel Hill 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.
Chapel Hill 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 $615,000 rental value near Chapel Hill’s median owner-occupied home value and a $275,000 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.
Before choosing, compare: the DSCR HELOC against the ordinary investment-property HELOC, against a DSCR cash-out refinance, and against a bank statement HELOC. Each card below says who it fits in Chapel Hill and what it costs the owner in paperwork and in the first mortgage.
A rent-qualified line, an income-qualified line, a cash-out refinance, or a bank statement line.
The route when the owner’s income is the problem and the rental’s income is not: the lease and the market rent carry the line, the entity stays on title, and nothing about the first mortgage changes. It caps lower than the income-qualified line and starts at a stronger credit tier.
For the Chapel Hill landlord with clean tax returns, room in the debt ratio, and a rental titled in their own name. The income-qualified line is the higher-leverage route; the DSCR HELOC is the route when the returns, the ratio, or the LLC make that file impossible. For the income-qualified route, see Lendmire’s investment property HELOC.
For the Chapel Hill owner whose first-mortgage rate is no longer worth keeping, or who needs more of the equity than a second-lien line can reach. The refinance resets the whole loan; the line adds to it. Compare the blended cost of the two before choosing. For the refinance route, see the investment property cash-out refinance.
For the Chapel Hill self-employed owner whose business deposits tell a better story than the returns, on a property held personally. Where the rental’s own rent covers the line, the DSCR HELOC asks for less; where it does not, the bank statement line reads the owner instead. For the deposit-qualified route, see the bank statement HELOC.
What to prepare for a Chapel Hill scenario review.
Prepare the rental’s paperwork, not yours. The list below is what a Chapel Hill landlord typically gathers; the selected lender may ask for more depending on the entity, the property type, and the lien position.
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.
A DSCR HELOC is a property file, and property files turn on details: the tier, the valuation, the lien position, the entity, the lease, the seasoning. The cards below are the ones that change a Chapel Hill line most often.
Use these checks to keep the Chapel Hill file clean and fundable.
Think of the details in two groups. Some size the line: the tier, the valuation, the lien position, the rent. Others decide eligibility outright: the property type, the seasoning, a recent listing, a solar lien, the entity papers. A Chapel Hill file clears the second group before the first matters.
- Confirm the vesting: Whether every member of the entity will sign as a guarantor on the line.
- Confirm the dates: The settlement date the ownership clock started on.
- Confirm the tier: Which tier the lender’s own report lands in, and the ceiling and cap for that tier and lien position.
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 Chapel Hill 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
The two clocks run separately: the mortgage transaction clock and the ownership clock. A rental owned for years and refinanced last month restarts the first; a rental bought last month starts both. The Chapel Hill file is eligible when both have run.
The credit tier decides the ceiling and the cap
The tier is read from the lender’s report. The program’s tradeline-depth rules are waived at a score every tier meets, so a thin personal credit file on a strong Chapel Hill rental is read for its history and its score, not for the number of accounts on it.
The valuation sets the value the ceiling applies to
The valuation is the lender’s, not the owner’s. On a Chapel Hill rental the automated model reads comparable sales, the inspection confirms condition, and the result sets the value the ceiling multiplies; an appraisal waiver is never accepted on the program.
The property list and the property type
Houses, planned-unit homes, townhomes, two-to-four-unit properties, and condominiums, non-warrantable ones at a reduced ceiling, are on the program. Rural property, row homes, condotels, commercial and agricultural property, leaseholds, land trusts, and the modular and log-home classes are not.
From a Chapel Hill rental prequalification to a funded line.
A DSCR HELOC on a Chapel Hill rental moves in four steps, and the first two are conversations. The scenario review sizes the line on the value, the balance, the tier, and the rent; the prequalification confirms it; verification and valuation prove it; closing funds it.
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
Verification proves what prequalification assumed. Value, title, insurance, entity standing, the first-mortgage balance, and the rent are each confirmed from their own documents, and the line is finalized on the verified figures before closing documents are drawn.
Closing and funding
At closing the line is recorded against the rental, in the entity’s name when an LLC holds title, and the minimum draw funds. The first mortgage is untouched, the draw period begins, and later draws follow the program’s minimum.
A brokerage that matches the line to the rental.
A lender with one rental-line program sells that program. Lendmire reads a Chapel Hill rental against the rent-qualified line, the income-qualified line, the cash-out refinance, and the bank statement line, and quotes the one the file actually fits.
Four routes, the right one quoted
Every Chapel Hill 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 Chapel Hill 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
Home equity lines are arranged under Lendmire’s consumer licensing: licences in sixteen states, and a program sheet that offers this line in fifteen of them, leaving one out. The terms of a Chapel Hill line come in writing from a licensed loan officer; the wholesale lender is never named here, and no rate or fee is stated.
Trusted by landlords & investors alike.
Chapel Hill DSCR HELOC FAQs
The questions Chapel Hill landlords ask before a rent-qualified line, answered from the program as it stands; figures live in the snapshot above.
What is a DSCR HELOC?
It is the DSCR idea applied to a line of credit: the rental qualifies itself. A Chapel Hill landlord keeps the first mortgage, opens a revolving line behind it sized by value, balance, and credit tier, and proves only that the rent covers the line’s qualifying payment. Vesting in an entity is allowed.
Can the rental stay in my LLC?
The LLC stays. The program was written for exactly this file: a rental held in an entity, a line behind its first mortgage, the rent qualifying the line, the members standing behind it as guarantors. A Chapel Hill owner does not deed the property to a personal name to borrow against it.
How is the rent test calculated?
The lender takes the gross monthly rent, the lesser of the lease and the appraiser’s market-rent schedule, and divides it by the qualifying payment: a fully amortizing payment on the entire credit limit at a stressed rate above the start rate. The quotient must reach the program’s coverage minimum, shown in the snapshot. A lease in place is required.
Is an appraisal required?
A valuation is required on every line; a full appraisal is required on the larger ones. A Chapel Hill 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.
Does a duplex or fourplex qualify?
Two-to-four-unit properties are eligible, with one unit permitted vacant. The rent test and the valuation work the same way as on a single-family rental; the leases, rather than one lease, document the rent.
What does the closing look like on an LLC-held rental?
The LLC is the borrower of record and the members are the guarantors; the title holders who are not borrowers acknowledge the line. Nothing about the Chapel Hill deed changes. The closing draw funds the line, and the balance is available through the draw period.
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.
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.
I just bought the rental. Can I open a line now?
Wait for the seasoning window. The program does not close a line together with a purchase, and it does not write one inside the months after a purchase or a refinance. The scenario review reads the purchase and refinance dates first for that reason.
Start with the scenario, not the application.
Request a quote and a loan officer sizes the line on the Chapel Hill rental’s figures, compares it with the income-qualified line and the cash-out refinance, and puts the terms in writing. The first mortgage stays where it is.
This guide covers Chapel Hill — for the statewide ceilings, tiers, and state rules, see DSCR HELOC in North Carolina, part of Lendmire’s DSCR HELOC program.
Nearby markets in North Carolina: Durham · Cary · Apex · Holly Springs · Raleigh · Burlington · Wake Forest · Greensboro
Other loan programs in Chapel Hill: DSCR Loans in Chapel Hill, NC · Super Jumbo DSCR Loans in Chapel Hill, NC · Short-Term Rental Loans in Chapel Hill, NC · Investment Property Cash-Out Refinance in Chapel Hill, NC · Hard Money Loans in Chapel Hill, NC · Bank Statement Loans in Chapel Hill, NC · Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loans in Chapel Hill, NC · Bank Statement HELOC in Chapel Hill, NC · Investment Property HELOC in Chapel Hill, NC