The Quick Read: The 75% figure is the cash-out ceiling for a standard long-term rental, and it is also the purchase ceiling for a short-term rental (STR). On a cash-out refinance of STR collateral, most files in our wholesale network top out at 70% loan-to-value. The right program for you depends on how your hosting income is documented, how long you have owned the property, and how much rent coverage the new loan needs.
- On a cash-out refinance of a standard rental, leverage tops out around 75% LTV across most of the network.
- On a cash-out refinance of an STR, expect up to 70% LTV, a 640+ credit score, and about 12 months of hosting history.
- On an STR purchase, leverage reaches up to 75% LTV on the strongest files.
- The coverage floor for an STR refinance is 1.00, and the loan is sized by whichever test is tighter: value or rent.
- Short-term rental rules can vary by city, county, HOA, and property type, so investors should confirm local rules before relying on projected rental income. These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Why the Title Says 75% and the STR Number Is 70%
Plenty of investors search for 75% on an Airbnb-style cash-out. Here is how it actually splits. A standard rental cash-out reaches about 75% LTV. An STR purchase reaches up to 75%. An STR cash-out refinance, though, generally stops at 70%.
DSCR Cash-Out Calculator
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Rate source: Freddie Mac 30-yr average via FRED® — Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis · effective Oct 29, 2026
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As of Oct 29, 2026 · General Freddie Mac market benchmark, not a Lendmire loan offer. Property value, balance, taxes, and insurance are editable estimates. Maximum loan-to-value varies by lender, program, property type, and seasoning. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
That five-point gap matters. Lenders treat STR income as less predictable than a 12-month lease, so they hold back a little more equity. The label costs you leverage, not eligibility.
So “best” does not mean one magic program at 75%. It means the program whose rules fit your property and paperwork. A broker that shops several wholesale lenders can match you to it. That is the job Lendmire does: it is a mortgage broker arranging DSCR investor loans through select lenders in its wholesale network, 41 markets including Washington, D.C. It is not a lender, and it makes no promise to lend.
Key Terms Defined
Cash-out refinance: A new loan that pays off the old one and returns the leftover equity to you as cash.
LTV (loan-to-value): The new loan balance divided by the property’s appraised value.
DSCR (debt service coverage ratio): The property’s qualifying monthly income divided by its monthly PITIA.
PITIA: Principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and association dues. It is the full monthly obligation on the property.
Seasoning: The waiting period a lender wants between buying a property and refinancing it.
Hosting history: Your record of actually operating the property as a short-term rental, usually shown by platform statements.
Net proceeds: The cash you walk away with after the old loan and closing costs come out.
How Does a Cash-Out Loan Get Sized?
The loan is sized by the lower of two tests. The first is value: the LTV cap times the appraised value. The second is rent: the largest loan whose payment your income still covers at the required ratio.
Say a property passes the value test easily. A bigger loan means a bigger payment, and the coverage ratio gets recalculated on that new balance. If rent can’t cover the larger payment at 1.00 or better, the loan shrinks until it can. Max LTV is a ceiling, never a promise.
Run it as a scenario. An investor owns an STR with strong equity and wants to pull cash at 70% LTV. Appraised value supports the full amount. But the new payment would push coverage to about 0.9x on the income the lender accepts. The loan gets resized downward, or the file looks at other structures. Select lenders in the network will review coverage below 1.00 with leverage and terms adjusted, but that is a separate path from the standard 1.00 floor on STR refinances. Terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, the leverage, and a full review of the credit profile.
Clearing 1.00 also does not mean the property makes money. DSCR compares rent to PITIA only. Repairs, vacancy, management, utilities, and capex sit outside the ratio. Don’t confuse a qualifying file with a profitable one.
What Is the Net-Cash Walkthrough?
Headline equity is not cash. The steps run in order:
1. Start with appraised value.
2. Multiply by the LTV cap for your collateral: up to 70% on an STR cash-out, around 75% on a standard rental cash-out.
3. Apply the rent test and take the lower result.
4. Subtract your existing loan payoff, including any prepayment penalty on it.
5. Subtract closing costs and any reserve requirement the lender sets aside. The exact numbers vary by lender and program and follow a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
What’s left is net proceeds. At a 75% cap, the appraisal has to come in at roughly 133% of payoff plus closing costs before any cash comes back. At a 70% cap, the bar is higher still. A property bought near market with a modest down payment often has little to pull. A property with real appreciation or paid-down debt can pull plenty.
Reserves vary by lender, leverage, loan size, and transaction type. About 6 months of PITIA is common, and loans above $1,500,000 typically step up to around 9 months. Treat those as ranges, not fixed rules.
How Is Short-Term Rental Income Verified?
How the lender counts your income can swing the coverage ratio more than anything else. Programs in the network use three common routes.
| Method | What it is | Effect on coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting history | Trailing platform statements | Reflects actual bookings |
| Market projection | Third-party revenue data | Used when history is thin |
| Appraiser rent schedule | Long-term market rent | Often lowest result |
Lenders usually haircut gross STR income before running the ratio, because the gross number ignores platform fees and turnover costs. The size of that haircut depends on the lender and program.
The appraiser’s rent schedule is the weak link for STRs. Form 1007 is the single-family comparable rent schedule, and Form 1025 is the small residential income property report for two to four units, per Fannie Mae’s appraiser and property underwriting page. Those forms capture monthly rent. McKissock, an appraisal education provider, notes the 1007 documents monthly rent for single-family homes, not nightly rent or business income. Fannie Mae’s own appraiser update goes further: it says an appraiser should not multiply a nightly fee by 30 on that form.
The practical result is simple. A property that clears 1.00 on Airbnb income can fall short if a program defaults to long-term rent. Pick a program that counts the income the way you actually earn it.
Two Clocks: Ownership Seasoning vs. Hosting History
Investors blur these. They are different clocks.
Seasoning counts months since you bought. On standard-rental cash-outs, about 6 months is the common expectation. Inside that window, the loan is typically sized on the lower of cost or appraisal. After it, appraised value governs.
Hosting history counts months you have operated as an STR. STR cash-out files in the network expect about 12 months of it, plus a 640+ score. You can own a property for a year and have no hosting history if it was a long-term rental. You can also have a strong first six months of bookings and still sit short of the 12-month mark.
Can you cash out before 12 months of hosting? Sometimes. Separate programs exist, and a file with thin history may be reviewed on market-data income instead. Expect adjusted terms, though, and confirm by file. This is where a broker shopping several lenders earns its keep.
Where the General Rule Breaks
Edge cases decide a lot of files.
- Cash buyer wanting money back. Delayed financing is an exception to normal seasoning, not a separate loan. It lets a cash buyer refinance without waiting, but proceeds are sized near documented cost, not after-repair value.
- Hard-money or bridge payoff. You typically refinance to pay off the short-term loan, wait out seasoning, or bring other cash to the table.
- Free-and-clear property. With no loan to pay off, any cash you take is still a cash-out refinance.
- Long-term rental converted to STR. Hosting history starts from conversion, so expect the 12-month clock to matter.
- Low rent schedule versus a signed lease. Some programs use only the appraiser’s rent figure. Others allow a variance when a current lease exists.
- Title held in an LLC or trust. Many investors close in an entity, subject to program terms.
- Ineligible property types. Manufactured homes, log homes, and barndominiums are not offered in these programs.
- Local legality. Lofty’s overview of STR laws notes there is no federal STR law, so legality is set locally. A property that can’t legally operate as an STR can’t support STR income on the file.
What Does “Best Program” Mean for Your File?
Nobody can name one winner in the abstract. Across our wholesale network, programs differ on these levers, and your situation decides which matters most:
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Leverage cap | Sets the ceiling on cash out |
| Coverage floor | Decides whether rent supports the loan |
| Income method | Changes your coverage number |
| Hosting history | Gates STR cash-out eligibility |
| Reserves | Reduces usable cash |
| Credit score | 640+ for STR; 700+ unlocks stronger tiers |
| Loan size | Up to $3,000,000 on standard programs |
A few lenders in the network accept market-data income for newer STRs. Others want the full 12 months of platform statements. The strictest overlays stack higher reserves on larger loans. Above $2,500,000, the network generally holds to 30-year fixed structures. Beyond that spine, extended terms and interest-only periods are available through select lenders, and ARM structures exist for investors who want them.
A bigger down payment or lower leverage lowers the payment and can lift coverage. It never erases credit floors, reserve rules, or property eligibility. The strongest files clear both tests: enough equity and enough rent coverage.
Go, Wait, or Restructure?
Use these rules of thumb.
Go now when you have 12 months of hosting statements, an appraisal likely to support the equity you want, and coverage comfortably above 1.00 on the new balance.
Wait when you are inside seasoning, have under 12 months of hosting history and need the full 70%, or would net so little after payoff and costs that the refinance barely moves your position.
Restructure when coverage is the bottleneck. Options include taking less cash, lowering leverage, or looking at structures such as interest-only periods through select lenders.
Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional before relying on any deduction.
For the full picture of how these loans work, see the complete DSCR loans guide.
How Do You Prepare the File?
Gather these before you talk to anyone:
- Platform statements covering the full hosting period
- Current insurance policy and an HOA statement, if any
- Existing loan statement showing payoff and any prepayment terms
- Entity documents if title sits in an LLC or trust
- Proof of reserves
- Local permit or registration paperwork, where applicable
A clean file lets a broker compare programs on facts instead of guesses. DSCR loans qualify primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines, so your personal tax returns are not the center of the file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get 75% LTV on a short-term rental cash-out?
Usually not. Across most of the network, 75% is the cash-out ceiling for a standard long-term rental, and up to 70% is the ceiling on a cash-out of STR collateral. STR purchases can reach up to 75% on the strongest files. Every file is underwritten individually, subject to lender guidelines.
Do I need 12 months of hosting history?
For STR cash-out in the network, about 12 months is the expectation, along with a 640+ credit score. Newly acquired properties may be reviewed on market-data income instead, with terms adjusted.
Why is my loan smaller than 70% of value?
Rent coverage probably capped it. The loan is sized by the lower of the value test and the rent test, and the ratio is recalculated on the larger balance. If coverage falls under 1.00, the amount drops.
Does the appraiser’s rent schedule decide my income?
Not always, but it can. Form 1007 captures monthly rent, not nightly rates, so programs that rely on it often produce lower income than hosting statements. Choosing a program that counts platform history or market data usually helps STR owners.
How much cash will I actually receive?
Cash equals the lower of the value cap and the rent cap, minus payoff, any penalty on the old loan, closing costs, and reserves. At a 75% cap, the appraisal must reach roughly 133% of payoff plus costs before cash returns.
Next Step
If you are buying or refinancing a rental property and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare DSCR loan options based on the property income, credit profile, leverage, and investor goals.
Investors weighing their equity options can start with Lendmire’s guide to cash-out refinance on an investment property.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349), a non-QM mortgage broker serving investors in 41 markets including Washington, D.C., helps structure DSCR scenarios commonly evaluated around a property’s rental income rather than personal income paperwork, subject to lender guidelines. A Scotsman Guide Top Mortgage Workplace in 2025 and 2026, Lendmire places loans through wholesale investor lenders and is not a direct lender.
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References
1. Fannie Mae — Appraisers & Property Underwriting
2. McKissock — Form 1007 and short-term rental appraisals
3. Fannie Mae — Appraiser Update
4. Lofty — Short-term rental laws
This article is part of Lendmire’s investment property cash-out refinance program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Can You Refinance a Rental at Maximum Leverage With a DSCR Loan? · DSCR Cash-Out Refinance Requirements to Fund a Renovation · How a High-LTV DSCR Cash-Out Refinance Works on a Rental
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Important disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage brokerage. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or financial advisor. All loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not constitute a commitment to lend. Rates, terms, and program guidelines are subject to change without notice and vary by borrower profile, property type, and state. Information in this article is general in nature and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.