Lendmire Research

The number moves based on loan size, coverage ratio, credit, leverage, and how much operating history the property has.

Get these four stacks assembled before you apply, and the file moves through underwriting with far fewer stalls.

Everything below is the mechanics behind those numbers — and the places where the general rule bends.

Coverage below 1.00 doesn’t automatically kill a file — it just changes the leverage and pricing. That’s the mechanical skeleton.

Arbitrage gets you into the short-term rental business fast and cheap.

A straight 30-year amortizing loan builds equity faster and skips the payment step-up that hits once the interest-only window ends.

Fully amortized DSCR loans build owned equity every month through principal reduction, at the cost of a lower coverage number on the same property.

A true second home is one you keep mainly for your own use, and you qualify for it on your personal income. DSCR financing is built for the first kind.

Neither wins outright — the right pick depends on what documentation you can produce and what risk you’re trying to avoid.

One is an entry strategy for someone who needs housing anyway; the other is a scaling tool for someone who doesn’t.

Short Term Rental Vs Long Term Rental Cash Flow For Lenders — Long-term rental cash flow gets treated as the more predictable number