Spartanburg’s metro population grew 39 percent between 2010 and 2024, against 9.9 percent for the U.S., per USAFacts. Home values did not follow. Zillow puts the city’s average home value at $236,395, up just 2.2 percent over the past year. Investors here should not count on market drift to build equity. A cash-out refinance in Spartanburg works when the property was bought well, improved, or leased up.
The Quick Read: A Spartanburg, South Carolina cash-out refinance is underwritten primarily on the property’s rental income measured against its full monthly obligation, which suits owners of small multifamily or lower-basis workforce houses who have already built equity through purchase price or renovation rather than market appreciation.
DSCR Cash-Out Calculator
Run the cash-out numbers in Spartanburg, SC
Rate source: Freddie Mac 30-yr average via FRED® — Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis · effective Sep 24, 2026
Prefilled with starting assumptions — enter your property’s value, balance, taxes, and insurance for a more accurate picture.
Program parameters update from Lendmire’s centralized guideline source. Taxes and insurance are editable estimates.
As of Sep 24, 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.
- Zillow shows city values up only 2.2 percent, so equity comes from basis and rehab.
- Cash-out proceeds cap at 75 percent LTV, with roughly six months of seasoning from title recording.
- Reserves of about six months of PITIA are typical, subject to lender guidelines.
- Converse Heights small multifamily rents run near $971 per unit on one listed quadplex.
- Rent growth is essentially flat, so underwrite at today’s rents.
Spartanburg Market Snapshot
A quick read on the Spartanburg investor landscape — figures come from the cited sources below. Confirm current property-level numbers before underwriting.
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| Home prices | 142 sales (Redfin) |
| Typical rents | $900/unit prior (Redfin) |
| Recent appreciation | +2.2% (Zillow Home Values, Spartanburg) |
| Employment | 200 jobs (SC Governor’s Office, BMW press) |
Flat Prices, Deep Payroll: The Appreciation Question
Spartanburg’s equity story is basis-driven, not appreciation-driven. Zillow’s index shows city values up 2.2 percent, and homes go pending in about 30 days. Houzeo reports a median sale price of $266,500, up 6.6 percent. The two differ because Zillow tracks an index of home values while Houzeo tracks a median of closed sales, so treat them as a range. This article uses Zillow’s figure as the citywide reference.
Redfin supplies a third read: a three-month median sale price of $230K, up 0.4 percent year over year. Homes sell after 47 days versus 63 a year earlier, and median price per square foot is $153, up 9.3 percent. Flat headline prices with faster sales and rising per-foot values make a mixed signal. For a refinance, it means the appraiser has fresh comps, but the number won’t rise on its own.
The demand underneath is sturdier than the price chart suggests. BMW Group states that its Spartanburg plant employs more than 11,000 team members. The SC Governor’s office confirmed a $200 million press shop investment creating 200 new jobs. A commercial real estate investor’s blog, Roth Capital, estimates 30,000 to 40,000 supply-chain jobs tied to the plant. That figure is an estimate from a building buyer, not an official count.
The Anchors Behind the Rent Roll
Three demand pillars support long-term leases here: manufacturing, healthcare, and a compact college town.
The SC Department of Employment and Workforce community profile lists Michelin North America, Optum Services, Plastic Omnium Auto Exteriors, QuikTrip, Siemens Industry, Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, and Walmart among the county’s 20 largest employers. An older regional county fact sheet counted 9,648 employees at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System and 6,063 across the county school districts. Those headcounts are a few years old, but the ranking is unlikely to have changed much.
Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System runs a 231-bed Mary Black Campus and a 125-bed Cherokee Medical Center, with more than 1,000 providers on staff. USC Upstate says the city hosts seven colleges and universities with nearly 15,000 students combined, including Wofford, Converse, USC Upstate, and a medical school (VCOM) that sends students and residents to rotate through the health system. The city itself is small: Census Bureau QuickFacts shows 38,910 residents and a median age of 36. RentCafe puts renter-occupied households at 47 percent.
That mix means tenants who commute to a plant, a hospital campus, or a classroom. Lease demand is real. Rent growth is the weak spot.
Running the Equity Math
The cash-out framework for a DSCR file is simple. Proceeds are capped at 75 percent LTV, the property generally needs about six months of ownership measured from title recording, and the property’s rent must cover its full monthly obligation (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any HOA dues) at a baseline of 1.00 for most standard programs. Credit tiers step up from a 620 floor through 660, 680, and 700, and reserves of roughly six months of PITIA are typical. All of this is subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, and property review. Lendmire’s primer on DSCR loans covers the ratio itself, and the equity-extraction guide walks through the cash-out structure.
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349), a DSCR-focused mortgage broker, structures DSCR scenarios for investors targeting Spartanburg, South Carolina and places them with wholesale lenders across 41 markets, including D.C. Recognized as a top-ranked workplace in 2026, the brokerage doesn’t fund loans itself. Eligibility rests with the lender.
Run the numbers on a modeled three-bedroom house. Apartment Finder shows average rents of $1,217 for two-bedrooms, $1,423 for three-bedrooms, and $1,733 for four-bedrooms. A local property manager was advertising a four-bedroom house at $1,900. Assume a three-bedroom near the Zillow city average and a $1,423 rent. At 75 percent LTV, the modeled coverage lands around 1.0x including taxes and insurance. That is borderline, and these are modeled assumptions, not sourced ratios.
Now take a two-bedroom at the $1,217 rent. Coverage falls below 1.00, in the high-0.8s on the same assumptions. Structures a lender may review include a sub-1.00 program, an interest-only payment structure, or a lower loan amount. Each involves compensating factors, different pricing, or more cash left in the deal, and none is assured.
The stronger play is likely the four-bedroom house or the small multifamily. The bedroom premium between a two- and three-bedroom is only about $200, but a fourth bedroom adds a further $300 or so.
DSCR files in markets like this one typically look like a stack of modest rents against modest basis. The file rarely fails on credit or reserves. It fails on the appraiser’s rent schedule, which is why the stronger files arrive with signed leases, a clean rent roll, and a realistic read on how much of the appraised value came from renovation. Pull the rent evidence before ordering the appraisal, not after.
Where the Equity Pencils
Small multifamily in Converse Heights is the strongest cash-out candidate in the research. Converse Heights is the city’s historic, tree-lined, mostly single-family district, and the priciest area for standard houses. Sources conflict on its median price ($437K per one brokerage page, $537K per a listing aggregator), so this article doesn’t lean on either. What matters is small-unit product. A Homes.com listing showed a Converse Heights quadplex fully leased at $3,885 a month across four separate leases, roughly $971 per unit. Another listing showed a Converse-area fourplex where two units previously rented at $900 each and total potential income was $3,550 a month. That gap between in-place and potential rent is a stabilization play. An investor who buys underrented units, renovates, re-leases, and waits out seasoning gives the appraiser a higher rent schedule to work with. These are individual listings, not market averages, and none shows a sale price.
Four leases share one payment. One vacancy is a partial loss of income, not a total one, which can clear coverage where a single house at a similar total price would not. The catch is scarcity. Single-family detached homes make up 70.6 percent of Spartanburg County units, per a SC Housing infographic built on older Census data. Duplexes through fourplexes are rare, so comps are thin.
East Pearl and the Wofford College area is the rent-ceiling submarket. RentCafe shows $1,555 a month there, the top of its neighborhood list. Student and staff demand supports the rent, though higher basis likely takes back some of the advantage. Downtown and the Grain District also draw premium rents. Rent.com lists a one-bedroom at $1,110 downtown, and a downtown duplex was listed beside Chapel Park, “surrounded by new development.” Those are apartment-level figures, so treat them as directional.
Honestly, Converse Heights units edge out the college-adjacent houses: the multifamily has more cushion, even though the houses are easier to appraise.
Where Cash-Out Gets Thin
Hillbrook and Park Hills look cheap for a reason. Rent.com’s one-bedroom averages are $737 in Hillbrook and $887 in Park Hills, against a $1,004 city average. Apartments.com names both, plus Wadsworth Hills, as the most affordable rental areas. Basis is low, but so is the rent ceiling. A Hillbrook package of three duplexes (six units) was listed, and low-rent stock like that only works when the purchase price leaves real cushion. Otherwise coverage stalls near the baseline and the refinance produces little cash.
Northside-Saxon has the lowest entry point in the city, but the sample is thin, so nothing here relies on its price. Manufactured homes, which make up 13.8 percent of county units per the same SC Housing data, fall outside the network’s DSCR programs. So do log homes and barndominiums.
Supply is the other risk. Colliers data summarized by Catalyst Capital Partners put the Greenville-Spartanburg multifamily pipeline at 2,188 units in the second quarter of a recent year, under one year of supply at recent absorption. That’s a metro-level number, not a city vacancy rate. RentCafe shows the average Spartanburg apartment rent at $1,240, up 0.38 percent from $1,235. Lease-up competition has been real. Underwrite flat.
Putting the Proceeds to Work
A cash-out on a stabilized Spartanburg rental turns trapped equity into a down payment on the next deal. The constraint is the 75 percent LTV ceiling, which leaves 25 percent of appraised value in the property, so plan for reserves as well. Owners comparing paths can read the refinance pathway for investor properties and compare conventional and DSCR options on investor loans. Details for the state sit on the South Carolina DSCR investor loans page. Before committing, verify current local rental rules, taxes, and insurance with qualified local professionals. To model a specific property, call Lendmire at 828-256-2183.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you qualify for a DSCR cash-out refinance in Spartanburg?
Qualification centers on whether the property’s rent covers its full monthly obligation, with 1.00 as the common baseline. Typical guidance calls for a 620 credit floor, about six months of ownership from title recording, and roughly six months of PITIA in reserves. Lender guidelines, credit review, and the appraisal decide the outcome.
What are the requirements for an investment property loan in Spartanburg, South Carolina?
Expect a rent schedule from the appraiser, proof of reserves, and a property type within program limits. Manufactured homes, log homes, and barndominiums are excluded. Cash-out proceeds are capped at 75 percent LTV, and standard programs go up to $3,000,000, with smaller balances routed through select lenders in the network.
DSCR vs. conventional financing
Two common ways to finance an investment property in Spartanburg, SC. They qualify you differently — here’s how investors weigh them.
Why investors choose it
- Qualifies on the property’s rental income — no personal tax returns, W-2s, or pay stubs needed to document income.
- No personal debt-to-income ceiling to clear, so existing mortgages and obligations don’t cap your borrowing the same way.
- Can be closed in an LLC, keeping the property inside a business entity.
- Built for scaling — not held to the limit on number of financed properties that conventional financing applies.
- Underwriting centers on the deal: generally qualifies when the rent covers the payment, a 1.00x coverage ratio being a common baseline (confirmed in underwriting).
- Designed specifically for investment property, including long-term and, where the program allows, short-term rentals.
Where it’s strong
- Often the lowest ongoing financing cost for a buyer who fully qualifies on personal income — a fit for a first property or a cost-first purchase.
Trade-offs for investors
- Requires full personal income documentation and must fit within a debt-to-income limit — salary, existing debts, and other mortgages all count.
- Typically held in your personal name rather than a business entity.
- Caps how many financed properties you can carry, which can become a ceiling as a portfolio grows.
- Evaluates you as a borrower as much as the property, which usually means more paperwork.
How investors usually choose: a first or single property often optimizes for the lowest financing cost; portfolio builders often optimize for leverage, vesting in an LLC, and scaling past conventional caps. The right answer depends on your goals, the property, and current guidelines — both paths run through select lenders in Lendmire’s wholesale network, with eligibility and terms confirmed in underwriting.
Will flat Spartanburg prices limit my cash-out?
Yes, if the plan depends on appreciation alone. Zillow shows city values up 2.2 percent, so proceeds come mainly from purchase basis, renovation, or lease-up. An underrented Converse Heights fourplex stabilized at market rents has a better shot at a higher appraisal than a house held while the market drifts.
How does DSCR lender review differ from a bank’s approach in Spartanburg?
A bank leans on personal income and debt-to-income ratios, while DSCR programs focus on the property’s rent against its obligation. Lendmire arranges DSCR investor loans, and a key feature is that the file is reviewed primarily on rental income, subject to program terms.
Does the college and hospital base help a refinance file?
It helps the rent evidence, not the appraisal formula. Nearly 15,000 students across seven institutions and more than 1,000 providers at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System create steady tenant pools, especially around East Pearl and downtown. Lenders still value the property on its own rent schedule and comps.
Spartanburg’s own numbers frame the opportunity. Redfin counted 142 homes sold in May, up from 129 a year earlier, so the appraiser has more comps to work with while prices barely move.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s DSCR loan programs page.
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.
Get Started
Ready to find the right loan for you?
In about 30 seconds you can review financing options available for your investment property. No commitment required.
Informational only. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
References
1. USAFacts, Spartanburg metro
2. Zillow Home Values, Spartanburg
3. Redfin, Spartanburg housing market
4. Redfin
5. SC Governor’s Office, BMW press shop
7. Roth Capital
8. SC Department of Employment and Workforce Community Profile
9. scacog.org — Economic 2021 Spartanburg
10. Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System
13. RentCafe, Spartanburg rent trends
14. Scotsman Guide — Top Workplaces 2026
17. Rent.com
19. Scotsman Guide 2025 Top Mortgage Workplace
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: DSCR Cash Out Refinance Spartanburg South Carolina · DSCR Cash Out Refinance Sumter South Carolina · Cash Out Refinance on a Goose Creek Investment Property
Guides: Investment Property Cash-Out Refinance in Spartanburg, SC · Investment Property Cash-Out Refinance in South Carolina
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
Disclosures. The information presented in this article is general market commentary, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) — not a direct lender or depository institution — and loan placement is subject to lender underwriting. Nothing in this content represents a commitment to lend. Loan terms, pricing, and program availability vary based on borrower qualifications, property characteristics, and state of subject property, and are subject to change at any time. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity requirements. Consumer access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.