LTV (Loan-to-Value)
Your loan divided by the property's as-is value. It's the ceiling on stabilized, income-producing deals — a DSCR rental is governed almost entirely by LTV. The cleaner and more stabilized the asset, the more LTV does the work.
LTC (Loan-to-Cost)
Your loan divided by the total project cost — purchase plus rehab plus closing and soft costs. This is the ceiling that matters on anything you're improving: bridge, fix-and-flip, and ground-up construction all live and die on LTC, because the lender is funding a project, not just a purchase.
LTARV (Loan-to-After-Repair-Value)
Your loan divided by the after-repair (or completed) value. This is the heart of the fix-and-flip “70% rule” — the lender caps total exposure at a fraction of what the finished property will be worth (commonly up to about 75%), no matter what you paid or spent. On a value-add deal LTARV often binds — though on a heavier rehab, loan-to-cost can bind first.
Which one binds
Your real maximum loan is the lowest of the three. A deal can clear LTV comfortably and still be capped by LTARV — or pencil on cost and fall short on value. Knowing the binding constraint up front tells you exactly how much cash you'll need to bring, before you're under contract.