The exact numbers vary by lender and program and follow a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
The Quick Read: No, not as an investment property, because the condotel leverage cap and the super jumbo leverage ladder each sit below 80%, and in practice they never stack on the same loan. Final terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
- A condotel is a hotel-style condo unit. On a purchase of an investment property, it tops out at 75% leverage and $1,500,000 through select wholesale programs, subject to underwriting.
- A super jumbo loan, meaning a loan above $3,000,000, drops investment leverage to 65% on a purchase, and then to 60% on review above $4,000,000.
- Standard investment purchases in this ladder top out at 80% on loans up to $1,000,000, and a condotel sits lower, at 75%.
- Because the condotel loan-size ceiling sits below where super jumbo starts, the two rarely overlap. You choose the building type or the loan size, not both. Each figure is subject to lender guidelines and a complete review of property type, leverage, and credit.
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As of Oct 15, 2026 · General Freddie Mac market benchmark, not a Lendmire loan offer. Rent, nightly rate, occupancy, taxes, and insurance are editable estimates. Short-term rental figures are estimates only and vary significantly by season, property type, management approach, and local short-term-rental rules — confirm local regulations before relying on them. Qualifying income for short-term rentals varies by program — some use appraisal market rent, others use documented STR history or projections — and is confirmed in underwriting. 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 is the short answer. The rest of this article shows why the numbers land where they do and what you can do instead.
What Counts as a Condotel, and Why Does It Matter?
A condotel is a condo building that operates like a hotel. Owners hold title to individual units, but the building runs a front desk, handles housekeeping, and often pools or manages rentals. Lenders treat that as a different animal from an ordinary condo.
The reason is risk. A regular condo’s value rests on residents who live there. A condotel’s value and income depend on how the hospitality market performs and on how well the operator runs the rental program. A weak season hits both the unit’s income and the building’s finances.
Large retail lenders that sell loans to the agencies mostly stay out of this space. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide lists hotel-style traits as grounds for ineligibility, such as a hotel or resort license, restricted owner occupancy, or required rental pooling. Its Condo Status Finder FAQ adds that projects managing daily or short-term rentals can fall outside agency financing even when units are individually owned. That is the contrast point. It explains why no agency low-down-payment route exists for these buildings, and it is the last time the agencies matter here.
Investors turn to DSCR financing instead. Scotsman Guide, a trade publication for mortgage professionals, notes that investors adding rental condos often go to DSCR loans to buy nonwarrantable units. DSCR means debt service coverage ratio: the property’s rent divided by its total monthly payment obligation. A ratio of 1.00 means rent exactly covers the payment.
Why Can’t You Get Below 20% Down on a Condotel?
Leverage, reserves, and pricing vary by lender and program; the final terms follow the full file review.
Every program in the wholesale network Lendmire works with caps condotel leverage well below 80%. On a purchase of an investment property, the ceiling is 75%, which means 25% down at minimum. On a refinance of an investment condotel, it is 65%. Those figures are ceilings through select wholesale programs, subject to underwriting. Many files land lower. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
The cap comes from the building, not from you. You can bring a 780 credit score, a large balance sheet, and a clean housing history. The building’s project type still sets the maximum leverage, and your profile decides whether you reach the ceiling or sit under it. Exact terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, property type, leverage, and a full review of the borrower’s file.
A rough sense of the spread across the network:
| Property type | Purchase leverage ceiling | Loan-size limit |
|---|---|---|
| Standard investment property | 80% (to $1M) | Up to $10M |
| Non-warrantable condo | 75% | Up to $1.5M |
| Condotel | 75% | Up to $1.5M |
| Condotel refinance | 65% | Up to $1.5M |
All figures apply to investment properties and are subject to underwriting. Non-warrantable means the building fails agency rules for reasons such as heavy investor ownership or pending litigation. A condotel is a different category again, because hotel-style operation is its defining trait.
The condotel program also carries a $250,000 cash-in-hand requirement. Confirm exactly how that is measured on your file before you rely on it.
A broker sees many lenders’ guidelines side by side, and the pattern is consistent. Down-payment requirements vary somewhat by program, but no condotel program in the network lets an investor put less than 25% down on a purchase. Sub-20% is simply not on the menu for this property type.
How Does Super Jumbo Change the Down-Payment Math?
Super jumbo makes it worse. As the loan balance climbs, lenders cut leverage because a larger loan is harder to resell and more painful to lose. The ladder for investment purchases in the network works like this, with each ceiling subject to underwriting:
- Up to $1,000,000: 80% on a purchase, with a 660 credit floor.
- $1,000,000 to $3,000,000: 75% on a purchase.
- $3,000,000 to $4,000,000: 65% on a purchase, with a 700 credit floor.
- $4,000,000 to $10,000,000: 60% on a purchase, on review case by case before submission.
The same ladder applies to rate-and-term refinances. Cash-out shrinks fast: 75% to $1,000,000, 70% to $1,500,000, and 60% to $3,000,000, with none above $3,000,000.
So a true super jumbo purchase of an investment property requires at least 35% down, and above $4,000,000 about 40% on review. Compare that with the 20% most people picture as the floor. Super jumbo investors are not buying with less cash. They are buying with more. Every figure here varies by lender and program — guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.
Do a Condotel and a Super Jumbo Loan Ever Overlap?
Almost never. This is the point most buyers miss, and the one that decides the whole question.
The condotel ceiling is $1,500,000. Super jumbo begins above $3,000,000. There is no loan size where both labels apply. If you want a condotel, you are limited to a loan of $1,500,000, however large the purchase price. If you want a loan above $3,000,000, you are looking at a different kind of property, such as a single-family luxury rental, a multi-unit building, or a warrantable condo that is not hotel-style.
What happens if the condotel’s price is above what a $1,500,000 loan covers? You fund the difference with your own equity. As a share of the price, your effective down payment then climbs well above 25%. A buyer who tries to stretch a condotel purchase beyond the ceiling is not getting a super jumbo loan. They are getting a capped loan and a very large check to write.
Worked Examples: Cash Required by Purchase Price
These are illustrative scenarios built on the program ceilings above, with no promise of approval. Every file is underwritten individually, and the numbers are modeled assumptions, not sourced market data.
| Scenario | Leverage ceiling | Minimum down |
|---|---|---|
| Condotel priced at $1.2M, purchase | 75% | 25% |
| Condotel priced above $1.5M loan cap | Loan capped at $1.5M | Over 25% of price |
| $3.5M non-condotel rental, purchase | 65% | 35% |
| $5M non-condotel rental, purchase, on review | 60% | 40% |
Read the table the right way. The first row is the best case you will find on a condotel. The second row shows the cap biting: the loan stops at its dollar limit, so the percentage you put down rises with the price. The last two rows show what super jumbo looks like on property that is not a condotel.
Closing costs and reserves are separate. Most programs want six months of reserves on the subject property, and twelve months for first-time investors, subject to underwriting. Cash from a cash-out refinance on another property does not count toward those reserves.
How Do You Qualify on Property Income?
You qualify primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. That is the appeal of DSCR for a high-net-worth investor: the review centers on the unit rather than your traditional personal-income documentation.
Coverage of 1.00 or better earns full leverage. Coverage from 0.75 to 0.99 is a real path through select programs, up to $2,000,000, but LTV and terms adjust, subject to underwriting. Condotels fit under that $2,000,000 line, so the lower-coverage path applies to them.
The coverage math has a trap in a condotel. Your payment includes HOA dues, and condotel dues are often high because they fund hotel-style services. The operator also takes a cut of rental income. A file can clear the ratio and still leave thin cash flow after the operator’s share. Lendmire’s condotel financing page covers that gap in more depth.
Short-term-rental income has its own rules. Programs here count it on documented operating history, or on the appraisal’s short-term-rent analysis for a purchase, at a discount to gross rent. They cap short-term-rental loans at $2,000,000 and want coverage of 1.00 or better. 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.
If you want to reduce the monthly burden, interest-only terms run up to 120 months at a maximum of 75% leverage. Coverage of 0.75 or better is required, and the file is qualified on the interest-only payment, subject to underwriting. A condotel purchase at the 75% ceiling fits inside that limit. Final terms depend on lender guidelines, property type, leverage, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage.
What Does the Lender Check on the Building?
Condotel files are building files first and borrower files second. Expect the lender to review:
- The HOA questionnaire. It reports owner concentration, litigation, reserves, and delinquencies.
- The rental-program agreement. Lenders want to see how income is split and whether participation is mandatory.
- Hotel traits. A front desk, pooled rentals, required housekeeping, or a hotel license mark the project as a condotel.
- The appraisal. It should include income exhibits that support the rent figure.
- Entity documents, if you buy through an LLC, subject to lender program eligibility. Layered entities are not accepted.
Scotsman Guide points out that each lender has its own guidelines for non-warrantable projects, and some depend on how the lender sources capital. That matches what shows up across the network. Two lenders can look at the same building and return different answers, which is a reason to have a broker run it past several programs rather than ask one.
Some programs also exclude lock-off units, where part of a unit can be rented separately. Ask early.
A building can look like a condotel on paper without being one. A condo listed heavily on booking sites is not automatically a condotel, though short-term rental management can still trigger scrutiny. The legal documents decide the classification, not the marketing.
What Are Your Real Alternatives?
If the answer to your original question is no, you have four workable options.
Buy a condotel at or below the cap. If you love the property, keep the loan within $1,500,000 and accept 25% down or more. That is the cleanest path. These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Choose a non-warrantable condo instead. If the building is non-warrantable but not hotel-style, the ceiling is 75% on a purchase of an investment property, up to $1,500,000. It is the same leverage as a condotel, with an easier building review in many cases.
Pick a warrantable condo or single-family rental. For standard rentals, leverage runs up to 80% on loans up to $1,000,000, and up to 75% from $1,000,000 to $3,000,000, on purchases of investment properties. That is the nearest the program gets to a sub-20% down payment, and it is still 20% down at best.
Go super jumbo on a different property type. If you need a loan above $3,000,000, plan for 35% to 40% down on a purchase, a 700 credit floor, and a case-by-case review above $4,000,000. Two appraisals are required above $2,000,000.
One more point on cost: agency limits on how many financed properties an investor can hold do not apply to DSCR financing. The network allows up to 20 financed properties, with no extra reserves for the others.
Common Myths About Condotels and Super Jumbo Loans
Super jumbo means a bigger loan for less down. It means a bigger loan for more down. Low-down jumbo products exist for owner-occupied purchases. Investment-property leverage on large loans runs lower, not higher.
A strong borrower overrides a weak building. It does not. The building sets the ceiling, and a strong profile only helps you reach it.
Rental projections prove the deal. They do not. Underwrite your own numbers, subtract the operator’s share, and check whether coverage still holds on the weak months.
For a head-to-head view of how this financing stacks up against a bank adjustable-rate option, see Lendmire’s piece Super Jumbo DSCR vs Regional Bank ARM on a Condotel Unit. For the broader framework, the complete DSCR loans guide walks through qualification end to end.
Your Pre-Application Checklist
Before you request numbers, gather these:
- The purchase contract and the exact project name.
- The HOA questionnaire and the rental-program agreement.
- Proof of cash for down payment, closing costs, and six months of reserves.
- Entity documents, if buying in an LLC.
- Your credit profile and housing history.
- A realistic rent figure that nets out the operator’s cut and the HOA dues.
Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held; investors should keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction.
Key Terms Defined
Condotel: a condo unit in a building that operates like a hotel, often with a front desk, housekeeping, and managed or pooled rentals.
Super jumbo loan: an informal label for a very large mortgage, generally above $3,000,000 in this network.
DSCR: debt service coverage ratio, meaning the property’s rent divided by its total monthly payment obligation.
LTV: loan-to-value, the loan amount as a percentage of the property’s price or appraised value.
Non-warrantable condo: a condo building that fails agency rules, for reasons such as heavy investor ownership, litigation, or commercial space.
Cash-out refinance: a new loan that pays off the old one and returns part of your equity as cash.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a first-time investor buy a condotel with less than 20% down?
No. A first-time investor faces the same 75% purchase ceiling as anyone else, which means at least 25% down. First-time investors also hold twelve months of reserves on the subject property rather than six, subject to underwriting.
Is there any loan above $3,000,000 on a condotel?
Not in the network’s published parameters. Condotels top out at $1,500,000. Above $3,000,000 you would be buying a different property type, and the loan carries 65% leverage on a purchase of an investment property, then 60% on review above $4,000,000.
Can I pull cash out of a condotel I already own?
Yes, within limits. A refinance of an investment condotel tops out at 65% leverage and $1,500,000, through select programs and subject to underwriting. Cash-out disappears altogether above $3,000,000, so it is never a super jumbo option.
What if my rent doesn’t cover the payment at 1.00?
Some select lenders in the network will review coverage between 0.75 and 0.99, up to $2,000,000, but LTV and terms adjust, subject to underwriting. Expect lower leverage and more cash down than a file that clears 1.00.
Does a short-term rental condotel qualify differently?
Yes. Income is counted from documented operating history or an appraisal rent analysis at a discount to gross, with coverage of 1.00 or better and loans to $2,000,000. Experienced investors only, and local permission must be documented for the specific property.
If you are buying or refinancing a high-balance rental property and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare super jumbo DSCR loan options based on the property income, the loan balance, credit profile, leverage, and investor goals. Lendmire is a broker arranging business-purpose financing through select lenders in its wholesale network across 41 markets, including Washington, D.C.
Large-balance rental buyers who plan around the 25% to 40% equity reality, instead of hunting for a sub-20% loophole, are the ones who end up owning the property they actually want.
Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page presents both super jumbo programs, bank statement and DSCR, side by side.
About Lendmire
A DSCR-focused mortgage broker, Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) places investor financing across 41 markets — 40 states plus Washington, D.C. — with DSCR eligibility generally reviewed by the lender on property cash flow instead of traditional personal-income documentation, subject to lender guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Ineligible Projects
2. Fannie Mae Condo Status Finder FAQ
3. Scotsman Guide, Invest in Your Future
4. Scotsman Guide, Get in the Game
This article is part of Lendmire’s super jumbo DSCR loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How to Qualify for a Super Jumbo DSCR Loan in Missouri · How to Qualify for a Super Jumbo DSCR Loan in Florida · How Big Can a Super Jumbo DSCR Loan Be?
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
- Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS# 1129696 · Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
- North Carolina Real Estate Broker · License# 343312 · Verify on NCREC
- North Carolina Insurance Producer · License# 19053198 · Property, Casualty, Life, Health · Verify on NAIC SBS
- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
Compliance and disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage broker and is not a direct lender, depository institution, financial advisor, or tax professional. Content in this article is general market analysis and educational information — not financial, legal, or tax advice for any specific situation. Lendmire does not guarantee loan approval; every transaction is subject to underwriting by the funding lender. Mortgage pricing and loan program guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice and vary by borrower characteristics, property type, and state regulations. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensure verification: NMLS Consumer Access.