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
The program floor on a line behind a first mortgage is a 720 profile; a first-lien line on a rental with no mortgage starts at 700. Higher tiers earn higher ceilings; the largest first-lien lines carry a reduced ceiling of their own.
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
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.
Nothing on this page is a commitment to lend, an offer, or a quote. The figures are program parameters from a wholesale lender’s guidelines, carried through Lendmire’s guideline source and subject to change; every line depends on the valuation, the lease, the rent, the credit report, the entity, the property, and full underwriting. Lendmire, LLC (NMLS #2371349) is a mortgage broker, never the lender, licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages, and the wholesale lender is never named on these pages. Rates, payments, and costs are disclosed in writing by a licensed loan officer. Equal Housing Opportunity.
What a DSCR HELOC is — and how the rent sizes the line.
The mechanics are the same on every Lima 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 Ohio.
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 Lima 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
Because the payment used in the test is a fully amortizing payment on the entire credit limit at a stressed rate, a Lima rental with thin cash flow qualifies for a smaller line than its equity would allow. Equity sets the ceiling; rent sets what the ceiling can actually fund.
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 Lima 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
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.
Every input is yours to change in the calculator below: the Lima rental’s value, the balance already secured by it, the credit tier, and the lien position. The ceiling and the cap come from the program tables for that tier and position, and the result is the room under the ceiling, capped at the program maximum.
Lima’s rental equity in figures — and how a line fits it.
Every Lima file is its own equity story, but the market frames it: the median value, the share of households that own, and the age of the housing stock. These Census figures are context for a line, never the terms of one.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Read the median against the balance on your own rental. Where values have run ahead of the mortgages on them, the room under the ceiling is wide and the rent test is the tighter of the two gates; where purchases are recent, the room is narrow and the ceiling is the tighter gate.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Lima rental neighborhoods, distinct equity pictures.
The line is sized on the property, and Lima’s properties differ by district: values, tenures, unit counts, and the rent the market supports. Each submarket below carries its own equity picture.
Condominium rentals
A Lima condominium rental carries a DSCR HELOC as readily as a house; the questions are the project’s. Warrantability decides which ceiling applies, the association’s finances are reviewed, and a condotel or an age-restricted project is outside the program. The median owner-occupied home value in Lima runs near $107,200 on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit buildings
Two-to-four-unit rentals in Lima are the program’s strongest files on the rent side. One vacant unit is allowed, the combined gross rent carries the qualifying payment, and the equity in a long-held building sets the rest. Roughly 6,510 Lima households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 46% of all households, the pool a rental equity line is written for.
Newer infill and recent purchases
A Lima 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. On a one-unit rental at Lima’s median home value, the second-lien ceiling puts total liens near $75,040 — 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.
Established close-in rentals
The close-in Lima neighborhoods hold rentals bought a decade or more ago, and those files carry the deepest equity: a small first mortgage, a value that has run far ahead of it, and room under the ceiling that the rent, not the equity, usually caps. About 54% of Lima’s households rent — roughly 7,763 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Entity-held portfolios
Portfolio owners in Lima hold rentals in LLCs for liability, and the program meets them there: the line is written in the entity, the members sign as guarantors, and the deed never moves. The exposure limit on loans and dollars per borrower is the figure to check first. Median household income in Lima sits near $46,240 on the latest Census estimate.
High-value rentals
Lima’s high-value rentals run into the line cap before the ceiling: a property with far more equity than the maximum line is sized at the cap, the largest lines take a full interior appraisal, and a paid-off property on a first-lien line reaches the larger cap at the reduced ceiling. Lima is home to about 35K people.
Treat the submarket notes as a map of where equity and rent tend to sit across Lima, not as eligibility. The program’s property list, ceilings, and rent test are the same citywide; the inputs differ property by property.
Four ways Lima landlords put a rental equity line to work.
From the next purchase to the next repair, a rental equity line answers needs that arrive on their own schedule. The four uses below are the ones Lima landlords bring most often; the line is sized by equity and rent, not by the use.
Rehab and repairs staged over months
A roof, a kitchen, a unit turn between tenants: the invoices arrive in pieces, and a line pays them in pieces. A Lima landlord draws the closing minimum, draws the rest as each phase bills, and keeps the first mortgage where it is.
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.
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 Lima rental supplies that capital from equity already earned, qualified on that rental’s rent.
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 Lima owner draws, closes the gap, and repays when the money arrives.
Estimate your Lima rental’s available credit line before requesting a quote.
Enter your Lima rental’s value, the balance on it, your credit tier, and whether the line sits behind a first mortgage or stands first on a paid-off property. The result is the room under the ceiling, capped at the program maximum, with the closing draw and the valuation path beside it. The rent must still cover the line; the lender decides that from the lease.
Lima 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 $150,000 rental value (the lowest value the example uses, which sits above Lima’s median owner-occupied home value) and a $70,000 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 Lima 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.
For the Lima investor whose returns understate the business, whose rentals sit in an LLC, or who simply wants the property to qualify itself. The first mortgage and its rate are untouched; the line is sized by equity and carried by the rent. Fewer documents, a tighter ceiling.
For the Lima 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.
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.
For the Lima 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 Lima 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 Lima rental line differs from the clean example in the calculator, and each carries a check to run first.
Use these checks to keep the Lima file clean and fundable.
The ceiling and the cap are the start, not the answer. On a Lima rental the valuation can land under the owner’s estimate, the lease can read under the market rent, the tier can land a step lower than an app suggested, and the seasoning clock can still be running. Each is a card below.
- Confirm the vesting: Whether the deed reads in an individual’s name, an LLC, or a trust, and which kind of trust.
- Confirm the dates: The settlement date the ownership clock started on.
- Confirm the exposure: Whether a planned portfolio of lines fits inside the exposure limit.
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 Lima 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 Lima investor who closed this spring plans the line for after the window.
How many financed properties the program allows
The count is per borrower across the program: a set number of loans and a dollar ceiling, both fixed by the program sheet and confirmed at the scenario review. A Lima landlord whose other rentals are financed elsewhere starts the count here at zero; one with several lines on the program reads the list first.
The credit tier decides the ceiling and the cap
Leverage steps with the tier. A Lima owner just under a floor sees the next cell down on a first-lien line and may see no cell at all on a second lien; the owner just above it sees the full ceiling. Every tier on the ladder is at or above the score where the tradeline-depth rules are waived.
The closing draw and the later draws
The closing draw is the largest draw the line will see, and the later draws each clear their own minimum; the rate on all of them is variable, and nothing on this page states it. A Lima landlord plans the line on the draw rules and takes the rate in writing from the loan officer.
From a Lima rental prequalification to a funded line.
Four steps, one file: review, prequalify, verify, close. Each one below says what the lender reads and what the Lima owner provides, and none of them promises a timeline, because the valuation, the title search, and the entity review set their own.
Scenario review
A licensed loan officer reads the Lima rental’s value, the balance on it, the credit profile, the lease, and the vesting, and sizes the line against the current tables: ceiling, cap, lien position, and the rent test. Figures are stated as program parameters, never as an offer.
Prequalification
With the credit report in hand the tier is fixed, and with the lease in hand the rent test is run. A Lima prequalification settles the two gates that size the line and lists what the valuation and the title search will confirm.
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.
The DSCR HELOC is a niche product, and the niche is where a broker earns the file: knowing which program writes an LLC-vested rental line, at what ceiling, with what rent test, and whether the Lima owner would do better on another route entirely.
Four routes, the right one quoted
A landlord whose returns are clean may do better on the income-qualified line; one whose first-mortgage rate is poor may do better on a refinance. The comparison is made on the file, not on the product, and the Lima owner sees it.
The entity stays on title
Vesting in an entity is the first question a portfolio owner asks. The program answers it with yes, and the file is built around it from the first call: the operating agreement, the good standing, the guarantors, and the non-borrowing acknowledgments, in order.
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 Lima line are quoted in writing, never on a web page.
Trusted by landlords & investors alike.
Lima DSCR HELOC FAQs
Short answers to the questions a DSCR HELOC raises in Lima: what it is, who it fits, what qualifies, and what it costs the owner in paperwork.
What is a DSCR HELOC?
It is the DSCR idea applied to a line of credit: the rental qualifies itself. A Lima 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?
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?
Not always a full one. Smaller lines are valued by an automated model with a property inspection; larger lines take a full interior appraisal. The valuation, whichever path, sets the value the ceiling applies to, and the appraiser’s rent schedule travels with it on a Lima file.
How do the draw period and repayment work?
Two periods on one line: draw years, when the line is open and payments are interest-only, and repayment years, when the balance amortizes. The snapshot carries both. Plan for the closing draw, which is most of the line, and for the payment change at the end of the draw period.
What does the closing look like on an LLC-held rental?
The entity signs, the members sign as guarantors, the non-borrowing owners acknowledge. A Lima LLC signs the line the way it signed the purchase, with the operating agreement and the good-standing certificate in the file and the deed unchanged.
Can the line be a first lien on a paid-off rental?
It can. A paid-off Lima rental takes a first-lien line, which starts at a lower credit tier than a second lien, reaches a higher loan-to-value, and runs to a larger cap; the snapshot’s ladder shows the first-lien rows beside the second-lien rows.
What credit history does the program expect?
Two things beyond the score: no late mortgage payments in the recent year and enough years since a major credit event. Tradeline depth is waived at the score shown in the snapshot, which every tier meets, so a Lima borrower with a thin personal file and a strong score is read on history and score alone.
Is there a minimum line or a minimum draw?
There is a minimum line, a minimum closing draw as a share of the line and as a dollar amount, and a minimum later draw. A Lima owner planning a small reserve should size the line for what will actually be drawn, because interest accrues on the closing draw from day one.
How much can I borrow against a rental?
Two limits apply. The equity limit is the ceiling for the tier and lien position, applied to the value, less the balance, capped at the maximum line; the rent limit is the line whose qualifying payment the rent covers at the program minimum. The smaller of the two is the line.
Your Lima, OH rental can qualify itself.
A licensed loan officer reads the Lima rental’s value, the balance, the tier, the lease, and the vesting against the current tables and tells you the line the file supports and the gates it must clear. No commitment, no tax returns.
This guide covers Lima — for the statewide ceilings, tiers, and state rules, see DSCR HELOC in Ohio, part of Lendmire’s DSCR HELOC program.
Nearby markets in Ohio: Springfield · Dayton · Toledo · Beavercreek · Kettering · Columbus · Mansfield · Middletown
Other loan programs in Lima: DSCR Loans in Lima, OH · Super Jumbo DSCR Loans in Lima, OH · Short-Term Rental Loans in Lima, OH · Investment Property Cash-Out Refinance in Lima, OH · Hard Money Loans in Lima, OH · Bank Statement Loans in Lima, OH · Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loans in Lima, OH · Bank Statement HELOC in Lima, OH · Investment Property HELOC in Lima, OH