Current DSCR HELOC guidelines, updated from one source.
Treat these as program parameters, not an offer: the maximum combined loan-to-value, the minimum credit score, the line sizes, and the draw and repayment periods on a rental line qualified by its rent, all drawn from one guideline source this page keeps current.
Of the rental’s value, first mortgage included
Total liens on the rental, the first mortgage plus the new line, may reach 70% of value behind a first mortgage you keep; the ladder below shows the first-lien tiers on a paid-off rental, which run to 75% at the top tier.
Credit score for a second-lien line
Scores from 720 are eligible on a second-lien line and from 700 on a first-lien line; the ceiling is read by credit tier, lien position, and line size on the ladder, and the owner’s debt-to-income ratio is never calculated on this program.
Automated valuation on lines to $400,000
Lines run from $50,000 to $500,000 on a second lien and to $1,000,000 on a first lien; an automated valuation with an inspection covers lines to $400,000 in either position, and every larger line takes a full interior appraisal.
Interest-only, then 25 years of repayment
A 5-year interest-only draw period and a 25-year repayment period make up the 30-year line. The rent must cover the qualifying payment at 1.10 or better, measured on the whole line at a stressed rate.
| Credit profile | Max combined LTV | Max line | Lien position · valuation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 740+ | 70% | $500,000 | Second lien behind the first mortgage · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 720+ | 70% | $500,000 | Second lien behind the first mortgage · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 740+ | 75% | $500,000 | First lien on a paid-off rental · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 720+ | 70% | $500,000 | First lien on a paid-off rental · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 720+ | 65% | $750,000 | First lien on a paid-off rental · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 720+ | 65% | $1,000,000 | First lien on a paid-off rental · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
| 700+ | 70% | $500,000 | First lien on a paid-off rental · Automated valuation + inspection to $400,000, full interior appraisal above |
The 70% combined loan-to-value ceiling behind a first mortgage requires a 720 credit profile. A first-lien line on a paid-off rental starts at a 700 profile, reaches 75% loan-to-value at the top tier, and runs to $1,000,000 at 65% on lines above $500,000. The rent must cover the qualifying payment at 1.10 or better.
Current DSCR HELOC snapshot · updated October 29, 2026 · seven tier rows across both lien positions · variable rate through the draw and repayment periods · at least 80% of the line (and $50,000) drawn at closing · later draws from $5,000 · first or second lien position · vesting in the owner’s LLC allowed · no reserves required · 6 months of ownership before the line.
Philadelphia: the combined loan-to-value ceiling on a Philadelphia rental is ten points below the ceiling shown; the rest of Pennsylvania follows the standard tables.
Nothing on this page is a commitment to lend, an offer, or a quote. The figures are program parameters from a wholesale lender’s guidelines, carried through Lendmire’s guideline source and subject to change; every line depends on the valuation, the lease, the rent, the credit report, the entity, the property, and full underwriting. Lendmire, LLC (NMLS #2371349) is a mortgage broker, never the lender, licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages, and the wholesale lender is never named on these pages. Rates, payments, and costs are disclosed in writing by a licensed loan officer. Equal Housing Opportunity.
What a DSCR HELOC is — and how the rent sizes the line.
A DSCR HELOC on a Hershey rental is sized the way a line of credit is and qualified the way a DSCR loan is: by the equity that is actually there, the tier the credit profile lands in, and the rent the property earns. The cards below cover the line itself, the rent test, the tier ladder, and how the file closes.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s DSCR HELOC program, or the statewide guide at DSCR HELOC in Pennsylvania.
A line on the rental, behind the mortgage you keep
Unlike a closed-end loan, the line stays open through the draw period: fund a Hershey rehab this year and a down payment next year, pay interest only on the drawn balance, and repay over the years after the draw period ends. The first mortgage, and its rate, never move.
The rent qualifies the line, not your tax returns
Because the payment used in the test is a fully amortizing payment on the entire credit limit at a stressed rate, a Hershey rental with thin cash flow qualifies for a smaller line than its equity would allow. Equity sets the ceiling; rent sets what the ceiling can actually fund.
Your credit tier sets the ceiling and the cap
Every row in the ladder is a cell: a credit floor, a leverage ceiling, and a maximum line, by lien position. A Hershey owner just under a floor sees the next cell down, or no cell at all on a second lien; the first-lien tiers start lower and run higher because there is no mortgage ahead of the line.
Valuation, the lease, the LLC, and closing
The file closes on the valuation, the lease, the credit report, title, and insurance that covers both liens. Smaller second-lien lines use an ownership-and-encumbrance report instead of a full title policy; a first-lien line always takes the full policy. No reserves and no cash to close are required.
Every input is yours to change in the calculator below: the Hershey rental’s value, the balance already secured by it, the credit tier, and the lien position. The ceiling and the cap come from the program tables for that tier and position, and the result is the room under the ceiling, capped at the program maximum.
Hershey’s rental equity in figures — and how a line fits it.
Every Hershey file is its own equity story, but the market frames it: the median value, the share of households that own, and the age of the housing stock. These Census figures are context for a line, never the terms of one.
Read the figures as backdrop. A high median value with a large share of owners usually means deep equity and larger lines; a market of recent purchases means thinner equity and smaller lines at the same tier. Neither changes the ceiling or the cap; they change how much of the ceiling a given rental can reach.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Hershey rental neighborhoods, distinct equity pictures.
Neighborhood by neighborhood, Hershey’s rentals present different files: some with deep equity and modest rents, some with high rents and thin equity, some with valuation questions of their own. The cards below walk through them.
Waterfront and view rentals
A waterfront Hershey rental presents the cap, the appraisal, and the flood policy as its three questions; the rent test on a long-term leased property is usually the easy one, and the equity rarely binds. About 46% of Hershey’s households rent — roughly 2,682 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Year-round primary residences
The program’s occupancy is non-owner-occupied, full stop. A Hershey primary residence takes the consumer HELOC on the owner’s income or deposits; a leased rental, held personally or in an LLC, takes this one. On a one-unit rental at Hershey’s median home value, the second-lien ceiling puts total liens near $265,440 — the line is what remains after the first mortgage balance, and the rent must cover the qualifying payment; a paid-off rental on a first-lien line sits above the second-lien ceiling.
Entity-held resort rentals
An LLC that holds a leased Hershey rental opens the line without deeding the property out; the entity papers, the lease, the valuation, and the guarantors’ credit make up the file. The median owner-occupied home value in Hershey runs near $379,200 on the latest Census estimate.
Rental condominiums and condotels
Resort condominiums split on the project: a warrantable or non-warrantable residential project is eligible at its ceiling with a long-term lease, and a condotel is not eligible at all. Hershey’s condominium rentals are read on the project first. Hershey is home to about 14K people.
Vacation and short-term rentals
Short-term rental income is not the rent the coverage test reads. A Hershey owner whose property books by the night does not have a lease to document, and the line is written on leased rentals; the scenario review is where that is settled. Median household income in Hershey sits near $78,587 on the latest Census estimate.
Long-term rentals in a resort market
Resort markets like Hershey have two rental economies, and the program is written for the leased one: a tenant, a lease, a documented rent. Seasonal and nightly income is not the rent the program reads. Roughly 3,109 Hershey households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 54% of all households, the pool a rental equity line is written for.
Submarket descriptions are general patterns, not property-level data. The ceiling, the cap, and the rent test apply the same way in every Hershey neighborhood; what changes from one to another is the equity position, the rent, and the valuation path a given property is likely to present.
Four ways Hershey landlords put a rental equity line to work.
The uses are the landlord’s, not the lender’s: the program does not restrict what a Hershey owner draws for. These four are the common ones, and each shows why a revolving line behind the first mortgage fits better than a lump sum that replaces it.
Finish a value-add before the permanent loan
The rehab-then-refinance cycle runs on capital between the purchase and the permanent loan. A DSCR HELOC on an existing Hershey rental supplies that capital from equity already earned, qualified on that rental’s rent.
Consolidate business debt at the property level
A Hershey landlord carrying repair cards, a contractor note, or a short-term loan can draw once against the rental’s equity and retire them. The line replaces several payments with one, and the first mortgage is not refinanced to do it.
Bridge a sale, a tax bill, or a buyout
A line bridges the gaps a portfolio produces: a partner’s buyout, a property-tax bill that lands before a sale closes, a deposit due before another rental refinances. A Hershey owner draws, closes the gap, and repays when the money arrives.
Fund the next purchase without refinancing
A line that stays open fits a buying program: draw for one earnest-money deposit and down payment, repay from a later refinance or sale, draw again. The Hershey rental behind the line keeps its mortgage and its rate throughout.
Estimate your Hershey rental’s available credit line before requesting a quote.
Use the calculator to see what the Hershey rental’s equity supports before you request a quote. Every input is editable, the tables update from Lendmire’s guideline source on the live page, and nothing here states a rate or a payment: the line is sized here and priced in writing by a licensed loan officer.
Hershey rental available-equity calculator
Value, balance, credit tier, and lien position in; the ceiling, the cap, the available line, the closing draw, and the valuation path out. The rent test is the lender’s.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $380,000 rental value near Hershey’s median owner-occupied home value and a $170,000 modeled remaining first-mortgage balance (U.S. Census Bureau). Combined loan-to-value ceilings and line caps follow the current program tables for the lien position and credit tier selected and update from Lendmire’s centralized guideline source on the live page. The rent test is the lender’s: the gross rent must cover the qualifying payment on the whole line at the program’s coverage minimum. Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a credit decision, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The actual line amount, combined loan-to-value, and eligibility depend on the automated valuation or appraisal, the lease and the rent, the credit profile, the vesting, documentation, and full underwriting by the selected wholesale lender; the rate, the payment, and any costs are provided in writing by a licensed loan officer. Minimum score, line-size, coverage, and draw requirements follow the current program snapshot shown on this page. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
Same rental equity, four very different ways to reach it.
A rent-qualified line, an income-qualified line, a cash-out refinance, and a deposit-qualified line are four different files on the same Hershey rental. Which fits depends on the owner’s tax returns, the first-mortgage rate, the entity on title, and how the money will be used.
A rent-qualified line, an income-qualified line, a cash-out refinance, or a bank statement line.
The route when the owner’s income is the problem and the rental’s income is not: the lease and the market rent carry the line, the entity stays on title, and nothing about the first mortgage changes. It caps lower than the income-qualified line and starts at a stronger credit tier.
The ordinary rental HELOC reads the owner, not the property: W-2s or tax returns, a ratio, personal vesting. Where those are strong it is the larger line; where they are not, the rent-qualified line exists for exactly that file. For the income-qualified route, see Lendmire’s investment property HELOC.
For the Hershey owner whose first-mortgage rate is no longer worth keeping, or who needs more of the equity than a second-lien line can reach. The refinance resets the whole loan; the line adds to it. Compare the blended cost of the two before choosing. For the refinance route, see the investment property cash-out refinance.
For the Hershey self-employed owner whose business deposits tell a better story than the returns, on a property held personally. Where the rental’s own rent covers the line, the DSCR HELOC asks for less; where it does not, the bank statement line reads the owner instead. For the deposit-qualified route, see the bank statement HELOC.
What to prepare for a Hershey scenario review.
The file reads the property and the credit report. Gather these before the scenario review, and the prequalification has what it needs; nothing on the list is a tax return.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the lease, the entity, the property, the lien position, and the credit profile. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the line.
Before relying on a figure, read these. They are the places a Hershey rental line differs from the clean example in the calculator, and each carries a check to run first.
Use these checks to keep the Hershey file clean and fundable.
Most surprises on a rental line are foreseeable: the tier, the valuation path, the lease, the entity, the seasoning window, and the program’s property list. Run the checks below before the scenario review, and none of them meets the Hershey file as a surprise.
- Confirm the vesting: Which title holders and first-mortgage borrowers will sign as non-borrowing owners.
- Confirm the dates: The date of the most recent purchase or refinance of the property, note date to note date.
- Confirm the rent test: The current lease, its rent, and whether receipts support a rent above market.
Title in your name or your LLC
A trust on title is a different question from an entity on title: a land trust is on the program’s ineligible list, and a revocable trust is read by the lender case by case. A Hershey rental in an LLC is written in the LLC’s name; a rental in a land trust is not written at all.
The seasoning clock on purchases and refinances
A rental bought or refinanced inside the program’s seasoning window is not eligible yet, measured note date to note date, and ownership seasons on its own clock from the purchase settlement. A Hershey investor who closed this spring plans the line for after the window.
The rent must cover the qualifying payment
The lender divides the gross rent by a fully amortizing payment on the entire line at a stressed rate, and the quotient must reach the program’s coverage minimum. A Hershey rental with deep equity but modest rent qualifies for a smaller line than the ceiling allows; the rent, not the equity, caps it.
Philadelphia rentals carry a lower ceiling
Inside Philadelphia the program’s combined loan-to-value ceiling is ten points lower than in the rest of Pennsylvania, on every lien position and every tier; a Philadelphia rental is sized under the reduced ceiling and the rest of the state under the standard one.
A recent listing, a solar lien, a declining market
A declining-market designation on the valuation trims the ceiling by a set number of points, a listing inside the program’s window makes the rental ineligible until the window passes, and a solar lien on title stops the closing until it is cleared. Each is the appraiser’s or the title company’s call, and a Hershey file near the ceiling can lose the top of the line to the first of them.
From a Hershey rental prequalification to a funded line.
The steps below are the program’s, in order. A Hershey landlord who gathers the lease, the mortgage statement, and the entity papers before the scenario review has the first two steps in hand at the start; the valuation and the title work set the pace of the rest.
Scenario review
A licensed loan officer reads the Hershey rental’s value, the balance on it, the credit profile, the lease, and the vesting, and sizes the line against the current tables: ceiling, cap, lien position, and the rent test. Figures are stated as program parameters, never as an offer.
Prequalification
Prequalification is where the file becomes real: the report replaces the estimate, the lease replaces the owner’s rent figure, and the entity’s papers are read. What comes out is a line amount, a lien position, and a short list of items to verify.
Verification and valuation
This is the step the owner does not control: the valuation lands where the comparables put it, and the title search shows what is recorded. A Hershey file whose value or lease comes in under the estimate is re-sized here, not declined, unless a gate fails.
Closing and funding
The last step is the simplest: signatures, recording, the closing draw. A Hershey landlord leaves closing with a recorded line behind the first mortgage, a draw in hand, and the balance of the line available on request through the draw period.
A brokerage that matches the line to the rental.
Three reasons Hershey landlords bring a rental line to a broker rather than a bank: the program is placed through select wholesale lenders, the file is read against more than one route, and the entity on title is not a problem to be solved before the conversation starts.
Four routes, the right one quoted
A landlord whose returns are clean may do better on the income-qualified line; one whose first-mortgage rate is poor may do better on a refinance. The comparison is made on the file, not on the product, and the Hershey owner sees it.
The entity stays on title
Landlords who built a portfolio inside entities for liability reasons should not have to unwind it for a line. The DSCR HELOC is placed through a wholesale program that writes the entity, and Lendmire’s Hershey review starts with the deed as it is.
Licensed, in writing, the lender never named
Lendmire arranges a rental line under its consumer licensing even on an investment property: the disclosures and the written terms that attach to a licensed home equity line travel with the file, in every state the program is written.
Trusted by landlords & investors alike.
Hershey DSCR HELOC FAQs
Common questions, answered plainly. Where a figure matters, the snapshot carries it; where a judgment matters, a licensed loan officer makes it.
What is a DSCR HELOC?
A revolving line secured by an investment property and underwritten on its rent. Interest-only draws through the draw period, amortizing repayment after, the first mortgage untouched, the deed left in the owner’s name or LLC. It is the route for a Hershey owner whose returns, ratio, or entity make an ordinary rental HELOC impossible.
Can the rental stay in my LLC?
Yes. Vesting in a limited liability company is allowed on investment property, and the line is recorded in the entity’s name with the members as guarantors. The entity’s articles, operating agreement, and good standing go in the file, and a member on title who is not a borrower signs a non-borrowing owner acknowledgment. The deed does not move.
How is the rent test calculated?
The property’s gross rent is set against a stressed, fully amortizing payment on the full line, and the ratio must reach the coverage minimum in the snapshot. Nothing about the owner’s income enters the calculation; a Hershey landlord with no tax returns at all qualifies if the rent does.
Is an appraisal required?
A valuation is required on every line; a full appraisal is required on the larger ones. A Hershey owner with a line under the threshold usually sees an automated model and an inspection rather than an appraiser’s full report, unless the model’s confidence falls short.
How do the draw period and repayment work?
Interest-only through the draw period on the drawn balance, fully amortizing through the repayment period after. The closing draw is set by the program, the later draws have a floor, and the rate is variable throughout; a Hershey owner plans the line around the shift in payment when the draw period ends.
What property types qualify?
Most Hershey rentals qualify: single-family, townhome, planned-unit, two-to-four units, condominiums. The exclusions are specific, rural property among them, and a condominium’s warrantability sets which ceiling it takes. Lots run to ten acres; beyond that, or with agricultural features, the property is outside the program.
Does a duplex or fourplex qualify?
Yes. Two-to-four-unit rentals are on the program, with one vacant unit allowed; the rent test reads the leased units’ gross rent, the lesser of the leases and the appraiser’s rent schedule, against the qualifying payment on the line.
What does the closing look like on an LLC-held rental?
The entity signs, the members sign as guarantors, the non-borrowing owners acknowledge. A Hershey LLC signs the line the way it signed the purchase, with the operating agreement and the good-standing certificate in the file and the deed unchanged.
Do I need reserves or cash to close?
No reserves and no cash to close. That is part of the program’s appeal to a landlord whose cash is in the properties rather than the bank: the equity and the rent carry the file, and nothing is held back as a reserve requirement.
Can the line be a first lien on a paid-off rental?
Yes, and the first-lien column is the more generous one: a lower floor, a higher ceiling, a larger maximum line at a reduced ceiling on the biggest lines, a full title policy instead of an ownership report. The line is still standalone; it is not closed together with a purchase.
Keep the first mortgage. Reach the equity anyway.
The scenario review is free and short, and it settles the two questions that matter: how much line the Hershey rental’s equity supports, and whether its rent will carry it. The written quote follows.
This guide covers Hershey — for the statewide ceilings, tiers, and state rules, see DSCR HELOC in Pennsylvania, part of Lendmire’s DSCR HELOC program.
Nearby markets in Pennsylvania: Lebanon · Harrisburg · York · Lancaster · Carlisle · Hanover · Reading · Gettysburg
Other loan programs in Hershey: DSCR Loans in Hershey, PA · Super Jumbo DSCR Loans in Hershey, PA · Short-Term Rental Loans in Hershey, PA · Investment Property Cash-Out Refinance in Hershey, PA · Hard Money Loans in Hershey, PA · Bank Statement Loans in Hershey, PA · Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loans in Hershey, PA · Bank Statement HELOC in Hershey, PA · Investment Property HELOC in Hershey, PA