DSCR Loan Rates
Reviewed by Dominick Prevete, Founder & CEO, National Loan Provider31 years in real estate finance
DSCR loan rates start at 5.99% and run to 8.49% as of August 2026. National Loan Provider is a mortgage brokerage: it arranges and places these loans across a panel of 100+ lenders rather than setting the price itself. The figures below are indicative starting rates for well-qualified files, not pricing on any specific deal.
What are the current investor rates by program?
| Program | Starting rate | Structure | Typical term | Max leverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSCR (long-term rental) | From 5.99% | 30-year fixed available | 30 years | Up to 80% LTV |
| Portfolio | From 6.49% | 5- and 10-year fixed | 5 or 10 years | Up to 75–80% LTV |
| Commercial | From 7.49% | Recourse and non-recourse | — | Up to 75% LTV |
| Bridge & 2nd position | From 8.49% | Interest-only | 1–24 months | Up to 75% LTV, 75% CLTV in 2nd position |
| Fix & flip | From 9.99% | Interest-only | 6–24 months | Up to 90% of purchase + 100% of rehab, 75% of ARV |
| Ground-up construction | From 10.49% | Interest-only on drawn funds | 12–24 months | Up to 85% LTC, 70–75% LTARV |
Rates as of August 2026. These are starting rates for well-qualified files. Where a specific file lands is decided by coverage, leverage, property type and the prepayment structure — not by one gate. The commercial row is arranged through Blue Sky Capital Advisors, the affiliated commercial mortgage advisory brand.
Three DSCR programs are deliberately absent from the table because no starting figure is published for them: no-ratio and low-DSCR, foreign national and DSCR cash-out refinance. Each of those prices per file, and publishing a starting figure we could not stand behind on every one of them would be worse than publishing none.
What moves your DSCR rate?
A starting rate is the top of a range, not a promise about your file. Eight things move a deal inside that range, and they move it together rather than one at a time — which is why a rate is quoted against a specific property and a specific structure rather than looked up.
- Coverage — the DSCR itself
- The ratio that names the loan is also the first thing that prices it. Standard programs open at 1.0 coverage; the tier that unlocks the best leverage and pricing sits higher, around 1.20–1.25. Moving from thin coverage into that band improves the rate, and every dollar of rent above the tier line improves cash flow without improving the rate further. The worked math on the coverage tiers prices one property at three ratios.
- Leverage — how much of the value you are borrowing
- Lower leverage prices better, and the effect is continuous rather than a cliff: a file at 65% of value prices under the same file at 80%. This is also the lever most investors already have. Bringing a little more down payment is frequently the cheapest rate improvement available on a deal, and it is worth pricing both before you commit to one.
- Purchase vs. rate-and-term vs. cash-out
- The three transaction types do not price the same. A cash-out refinance prices above a rate-and-term refinance, which prices at or near a purchase, and the leverage caps step down in the same order — a rate-and-term refinance generally runs about 5% higher leverage than a cash-out on the same property. If the object is the lowest rate rather than the cash, that ordering is worth knowing before you structure the request. The cash-out program page covers what changes on that path.
- Property type and unit count
- A single-family rental is the cleanest file in this category and prices accordingly. A 2–4 unit prices above it, a condo — particularly a non-warrantable one — carries its own adjustment, and 5–10 unit multifamily leaves the residential DSCR box entirely for a commercial execution, which is a different program with different leverage rather than the same loan at a worse rate.
- Short-term rental vs. a long-term lease
- Qualifying on short-term rental income rather than a signed long-term lease prices above standard DSCR — from 6.49% as of August 2026, against 5.99% on the long-term programs. The income is usually larger, so the ratio often improves even as the rate does not; whether the trade is worth it is a per-deal question. How short-term rental income is underwritten covers the documentation side.
- The prepayment structure
- This is the adjuster investors price wrong most often, because it does not show up until the exit. Accepting a longer step-down penalty lowers the rate; shortening or buying it out raises it. Pick the structure off your holding horizon rather than off the rate sheet — one deal priced under four prepay structures shows what the discount actually costs when the property sells early.
- Points paid at closing
- One point costs 1% of the loan amount at closing and typically buys the rate down about 0.25%. On a long hold that usually clears; on a two-year strategy it rarely does. Work the break-even in months before you buy anything down — the arithmetic is in the 2026 DSCR loan guide.
- Loan size
- Small-balance loans price differently from larger ones, because the fixed costs of originating and closing a file are a much bigger share of a small loan. The residential programs start at $75,000; the effect is most visible at the bottom of that range and fades well before the portfolio and commercial executions at the top of it.
What is the payment on a $300,000 DSCR loan?
Principal and interest only, on a 30-year fixed at the current DSCR starting rate of 5.99% (as of August 2026). Illustrative — every figure below derives from that rate, so it moves when the rate does.
- Loan amount
- $300,000
- Rate
- 5.99%
- Amortization
- 30-year fixed
- Principal & interest, monthly
- ≈ $1,797
That is the loan payment and nothing else. Taxes, insurance and any HOA dues sit on top of it, and it is the full monthly figure — PITIA — that the coverage ratio is measured against, not the principal and interest alone. The full walk-through, with a verified New Jersey tax rate driving every dependent number, is on the DSCR loans hub, and you can run your own property through the DSCR calculator.
How do DSCR rates compare to a conventional mortgage?
A DSCR loan prices above a conventional owner-occupied mortgage. That is structural rather than a market condition: the loan qualifies a property instead of a person, closes in an entity, carries no cap on how many properties you already own, and asks for no tax returns or debt-to-income calculation. The spread is the price of all four.
The benchmark to compare against is the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which publishes a weekly national average for the 30-year fixed owner-occupied mortgage — Freddie Mac PMMS. Read the current week there rather than from us: it is the primary source, it moves weekly, and a spread published on this page would be stale before you finished reading it.
For an investor who cannot get the conventional loan at all — because the returns understate the income, or because the property count is already past the conventional ceiling — the comparison that matters is not which rate is lower. It is which loan exists. A dated worked comparison of the two, against a specific PMMS week, is in what a DSCR ARM actually buys you versus the 30-year fixed.
Points, buydowns and the prepay trade
Two levers change the rate on the same file without changing the property at all, and both are trades rather than discounts. Buying the rate down with points moves cost forward to closing: a point is 1% of the loan amount and typically buys about a quarter point of rate, so the question is only whether you hold the loan past the break-even. Accepting a longer prepayment step-down moves cost to the exit instead: it lowers the rate today and charges you if the property sells or refinances early.
Both have their dollar math worked out in full elsewhere rather than restated here — one deal priced under four prepay structures and how the coverage ratio sets the pricing tier. The rule that survives both: price the structure off your holding horizon, not off the headline rate.
DSCR rate questions
How often do DSCR rates change, and what does the as-of date mean?+
Lender pricing moves continuously — most investor lenders reprice at least weekly, and faster when the bond market is volatile. The as-of stamp on this page is the date the figures were last reconfirmed against lender pricing, currently August 2026. Read it as "these were the starting rates on that date," not as a rate that is held open until the stamp changes. If the stamp is old relative to when you are reading it, ask for current pricing rather than assuming the figure still stands.
Is my rate set when I get the term sheet or at closing?+
Neither, automatically. A term sheet states the rate the lender is working from, but it is non-binding and subject to underwriting, appraisal and full diligence — the figure can move if the file changes, and a term sheet is not a lock. A rate lock is a separate, explicit step that a lender offers at a defined point in the process, for a defined window, and sometimes for a fee. Ask when the lock is available and what it costs before you assume the number on the sheet is the number at the table.
Why do two similar rentals on the same street price differently?+
Because almost nothing that prices a DSCR loan is about the street. Two properties a block apart can differ on coverage ratio, leverage, unit count, whether the file is a purchase or a cash-out, whether the income is a signed lease or short-term rental projections, and what prepayment structure the borrower accepted. Any one of those moves the rate on its own; in practice several move at once, in different directions, which is why a neighbor's rate is a poor predictor of yours.
Can I buy the rate down with points, and when does that pay back?+
Yes. One point costs 1% of the loan amount at closing and typically buys the rate down about 0.25%. Whether it pays back is arithmetic, not opinion: divide the cost of the point by the monthly payment saving to get the break-even in months, then compare that to how long you actually intend to hold the loan. Investors planning a refinance inside a couple of years rarely reach break-even; long-term holders usually clear it comfortably.
Does a 5–10 unit building price differently from a single-family rental?+
It is generally a different loan rather than the same loan at a different rate. Residential DSCR programs run on 1–4 unit properties; at 5 units the file moves to a commercial execution, which is priced, sized and underwritten on its own terms — different leverage caps, a different amortization and term structure, and property-level underwriting rather than a rent-to-payment ratio on a residential appraisal. Compare the two as separate programs, not as one rate with an adjustment.
Does short-term rental income change what the loan prices at?+
Yes. Qualifying on short-term rental income rather than a signed long-term lease prices above the standard long-term programs — from 6.49% against 5.99% as of August 2026. The offsetting effect is that short-term rental income is often materially higher than the long-term lease comparable on the same property, so the coverage ratio can improve at the same time the rate does. Whether the trade favors you depends on the property and the market, and it is worth running both ways before you choose which income basis to file on.
Every deal here is structured personally by Dominick Prevete — 31 years in real estate finance, $2B+ closed, 100+ lender relationships.
National Loan Provider arranges business-purpose investor financing in all 50 states.
What would my own deal price at?
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Loans are for business purposes only and are not subject to TILA, RESPA, or HOEPA. Not for primary residences. Equal Housing Opportunity. All loans subject to underwriting approval. Rates and terms shown for illustration; actual rates depend on deal specifics. National Loan Provider does not arrange financing on owner-occupied properties. Every loan we arrange is business-purpose investor financing.