Lendmire Research

Every figure here varies by lender and program — guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.

A 620 floor shows up on some programs, but 660 is the more common comfort zone, and 700+ is where the best leverage tiers open up.

The rest of this piece walks through exactly how that gets applied, file by file.

The main exception is FHA and most conventional owner-occupied loans, which require the buyer to live in the property first.

– Down payment and post-closing reserves are two separate pools of money; conflating them is the single most common first-timer miscalculation.

PITIA: principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any HOA dues — the full monthly obligation that sits on the bottom half of the DSCR calculation.

That single design choice is why renters buy their first rental all the time.

DSCR Loans For New Investors — A DSCR loan lets you buy a rental property based mainly on the property’s rent, not your W-2s or tax returns.

Understanding which document actually drives the lender’s decision — a tax return or a rent schedule — determines whether a given deal is workable at all.

Miss one of the four and the file stalls even if the other three look strong.

There’s no landlord history requirement built into the math, no W-2 review, and no debt-to-income calculation.

A smaller group leans on home equity, a co-borrower, or a portfolio/hard-money lender to bridge a gap in credit, savings, or documentation.

No Experience DSCR Loan — A no experience DSCR loan qualifies an investor based on the property’s rental income covering its payment, not

Buying A Rental Property While Renting — There’s no rule requiring an investor to already own a home before buying a rental.