DSCR Loan Requirements 2026: What 7 Lenders Actually Publish (Ratio, FICO, Down Payment, Loan Size)

Why "requirements" means "this lender's requirements"

A DSCR loan is a mortgage on a rental property that the lender approves on the property's rent instead of your personal income. Because it finances a rental you do not live in, it is business-purpose credit, outside the consumer-mortgage rules that set standard documentation for a home loan. No agency publishes a DSCR standard and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not buy these loans, so each lender, and the investors who buy its loans in securitizations, decides the ratio, score, leverage and size. (If you are new to the product, start with what a DSCR loan is and how the ratio works.)

That is why the useful answer to "what are the requirements" is a table of what lenders actually publish, with the page and the date. Anything a lender does not print, we mark as not stated rather than guess.

The table: what each lender publishes

Source: each lender's DSCR page, read September 26, 2026; the URL for every row is in the CSV. "Not stated" means the page we read does not print the number, not that there is no limit. Rates and terms change without notice and depend on the property and the borrower.

The ratio: 0.75 to 1.10, and why "no minimum" is not free

The ratio is rent divided by the monthly cost of the loan (the exact formula is below). A ratio of 1.0 means the rent just covers the payment. The published floors spread from no minimum to 1.10:

• No minimum: Easy Street's EasyRent states "No Minimum DSCR".
• Below 1.0: LendingOne "as low as 0.75", Kiavi "as low as 0.8x", and A&D allows it, but only at 75% LTV or less, not on condos or condotels, and with a 680 credit score.
• 1.10: Quontic Bank, the FDIC-insured bank in the table.

A lender that accepts a property whose rent does not cover the payment is taking more risk, and it prices and limits that risk elsewhere: lower leverage (A&D's 75% cap), a higher score (A&D's 680), or a higher rate. A&D says it plainly the other way round: "Improved pricing for DSCR > 1.25." If your property is near 1.0, the ratio decides your rate more than it decides your approval.

Credit score: 620 to 680

The lowest scores printed on the pages we read are 620 at A&D Mortgage and 640 at Easy Street. Lima One prints 660 on its short-term rental program. Visio's page says "Most DSCR lenders require a 680 credit score, with better rates for higher credit." Kiavi advertises "No hard credit pull" to get a rate, which is about the quote, not the approval.

The score matters for more than approval. In KBRA's study of more than 475,000 non-QM mortgages securitized since 2015, borrowers with scores below 660 defaulted at nearly 10%, and those above 760 at below 2% (KBRA). That spread is what lenders are pricing.

Down payment: 20% to buy, 25% to cash out

The ceiling on the pages we read is 80% loan-to-value on a purchase or a rate-and-term refinance (Lima One, LendingOne, Easy Street; Kiavi states "up to 80%" without splitting by purpose), which means at least 20% down, and 75% on a cash-out refinance, so you keep 25% equity. Exceptions in the table:

• A&D Mortgage: up to 80% combined LTV with a minimum borrower contribution of 10%, and "everything else can be gifted"; first-time homebuyers are capped at 70% (30% down).
• Short-term rentals are lower at Lima One: 75% on a purchase and 70% on a cash-out.
• Foreign nationals at A&D: 75% CLTV.

So, to the common question: not all DSCR loans are 20% down. 20% is the floor at the lenders we read; many borrowers, programs and property types need 25% to 30%.

Loan size and property type

• Lima One: $85,000 to $2.5 million for one rental of 1 to 9 units.
• Easy Street: $100,000 to $3.5 million and more; blanket loans on a portfolio to $5 million.
• A&D Foreign National DSCR: up to $3 million.
• Quontic: single-family homes, 2-4 family units, PUDs and condos.

Reserves

None of the seven pages we read prints a reserve requirement in months. Kiavi lists "no minimum liquidity requirement" on its DSCR page, and A&D says "Cash-out proceeds can be used as reserves." Reserves are usually set per loan in the lender's guidelines, so ask for the number in writing before you pay for an appraisal.

Two formulas, two answers

Most lenders divide monthly rent by the full monthly payment: principal, interest, taxes, insurance and association dues (PITIA). Visio's page walks through it: rent $2,350 against a PITIA of $2,035 ($1,600 principal and interest, $250 taxes, $150 insurance, $35 association dues) gives 1.15.

Quontic states a different formula: "gross rental income minus the real estate taxes, insurance and HOA fees (if applicable) by the proposed principal and interest payment." On Visio's own example that gives ($2,350 − $250 − $150 − $35) ÷ $1,600 = 1.20 (our arithmetic). Same property, same rent, a different ratio. Near a lender's floor, that difference can decide the file. Our DSCR calculator shows the result under both.

The rule that is law, not policy: you cannot live there

Every requirement above is lender policy. Occupancy is different. The official commentary to Regulation Z, the federal rule for consumer credit, says credit to acquire, improve or maintain rental property that is not owner-occupied is deemed to be for business purposes, and adds: "If the owner expects to occupy the property for more than 14 days during the coming year, the property cannot be considered non-owner-occupied" (12 CFR 1026.3(a), comment 3(a)-4). DSCR lenders rely on that business-purpose treatment, which is why they ask you to sign that you will not occupy the property. A home you plan to live in, even part of the year, needs a consumer mortgage.

First-time investors can qualify at some lenders: Quontic says first-time investors are eligible "even if they're also first-time homebuyers", and A&D takes first-time homebuyers at up to 70% CLTV.

FAQ

Lender terms read on each lender's own DSCR page on September 26, 2026; the source URL for every row is in the CSV. The Quontic-formula example is our arithmetic on Visio's published example. This is a comparison of published terms, not a loan offer or financial advice.