Home / DSCR / The rent on the listing is not always the rent we use.
Updated September 2026
DSCR guide
The rent on the listing is not always the rent we use.
Qualifying rent is the number that goes on top of the DSCR fraction. Long-term purchase: the lower of the in-place lease or market rent. Refinance with a receipt: the lease, up to about 115% of market. Short-term and condotel: market or a 12-month history, and a condotel often takes a haircut around 80%. A vacant long-term unit on a refinance can count as zero. We will not qualify you on a rent the guideline throws out.
Sending a file is not an approval and not a credit pull. We text the same business day. We do not call. If we can structure it, we name the door. If we cannot, we say so.
The screen
| Situation | Rent that counts |
|---|---|
| Purchase, long-term | Lower of in-place lease or market |
| Refi with receipt | Lease, capped near 115% of market |
| STR refinance | Lower of market and 12-month history |
| Condotel | Often 80% of the STR figure |
What we fund
- Files where the rent story is the whole file
- Investors comparing a lease to an appraisal rent schedule
- STR hosts with a real 12-month history
What we still need. Short list.
- Credit is still reviewed. A lower score changes leverage, it does not skip the file.
- Reserves and down payment, sourced, when that screen asks for them.
- Appraisal plus a lease, market rent, or a short-term rent schedule.
- Entity documents if you close in an LLC.
Questions
Can I send projected Airbnb income?
Purchase STR often uses market, with the program haircut. A refinance wants history. A spreadsheet of peak weeks is not history.
What if market rent is higher than the lease?
On a purchase we use the lower one. You do not get the bigger number just because the appraiser wrote it.
Does gross rent mean before expenses?
Yes. Expenses sit inside PITIA, on the bottom of the ratio. Do not subtract them twice.
Related
These are the guidelines we screen. They are not a promise that your file hits the maximum. Credit-event seasoning, occupancy, and property condition still have to be confirmed. Not a commitment to lend. We text. We do not call.