Short-Term Rental Loans
The bank wants a lease. Your tenants check out on Sunday.
A house that earns its living three nights at a time does not have a lease to show an underwriter, and most lenders stop there. This page is about the ones that do not. Short-term rental DSCR loans qualify the property on what it actually earns — or what a market-data report says it will earn — with no personal income on the file at all. The rules are stricter than a long-term rental’s, the leverage sits a few points lower, and one lender on this shelf prints a grid that goes down to half coverage. All of it is business-purpose lending on investment property.
Who this is built for
Investors already running a short-term rental
Twelve months of platform statements is the strongest position on this page. Documented history qualifies where projections need a cushion, and one lender qualifies on the lesser of history and the market report — which usually means history.
Buyers of a property with no rental history yet
A purchase qualifies on a market-data projection — the report’s projected revenue divided by twelve. Where the market scores well, one lender will accept coverage below 1.00 on that projection alone.
Owners pulling equity out of a performing rental
Cash-out exists on this page, at lower leverage than a purchase, and it is the one route where operating history is not optional — the refinance rules want the statements.
Investors in condos and coastal markets
Both are common short-term rental stock and both carry extra paper — a condo needs its association’s written blessing for nightly rentals, and coastal markets are exactly where the market-score rule bites.
Send the address and, if it has one, the last twelve months of platform statements. The market report takes minutes to pull, and between the two the ratio — and which band you land in — is usually known in the first conversation.
Run the addressThe address gets underwritten, not just the house
One lender scores the market first: below its threshold the loan must cover at least 1.00; above it, a band down to half coverage opens on a projection alone.
Three facts from the current matrices that decide these files before the grid is ever consulted:
Put together: the strongest short-term rental file on this shelf is an operating property with twelve months of platform statements, in a market that scores well, bought or refinanced by someone who has done this before. Each of those four things is worth points or opens a band. A file with none of them is not dead — the first lender’s 660 door and the projection route exist for exactly that buyer — but it lands lower on the ladder, and it is better to know that before the offer than after.
| Five points is the toll | On every shelf lender | Short-term rental leverage sits five points under long-term at the same rung, at every lender on this page that prints both. Budget for it; it is not negotiable. |
| The neighborhood is scored | A threshold of 60 | One lender closes its sub-1.00 band where the market-data score is under 60; another wants 60% occupancy from the same kind of report. The address can fail before the house is appraised. |
| History beats projection | The lesser-of rule | On a refinance the lender takes the lower of twelve months of real statements and the market projection. A property that has been operating is worth real leverage over one that has not. |
Program parameters reflect the lenders’ current published matrices and guidelines and change without notice. Business-purpose loans on investment property. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
How it actually works
The same debt-service arithmetic as a long-term rental, with one substitution: a market report stands in for the lease.
The property’s income replaces yours
No tax returns, no pay stubs, no employment. The question is whether the property’s rent covers the payment — expressed as a ratio, where 1.00 means it covers it exactly.
A market report replaces the lease
On a purchase there is no history, so the lender pulls a market-data report for the address and divides its projected annual revenue by twelve. That figure is the rent for the ratio.
History wins when it exists
On a refinance, one lender pulls both the report and twelve months of platform statements and qualifies on the lesser of the two. Real numbers are trusted more than modelled ones, and they should be.
The market itself is underwritten
One lender scores the market: below a threshold, coverage must be at least 1.00; above it, the sub-1.00 band opens. Another wants the market to show at least sixty percent occupancy. The address is being underwritten as much as the building.
The grid, and the doors beside it
Four tables from two lenders, plus four more lenders in the notes beneath. The first lender prints a short-term grid of its own; the second publishes a rule set that reshapes its long-term grid. Figures from different programs never combine.
One lender’s printed short-term rental grid, effective 08/13/2026, for one-to-four-unit investment property where the property’s income at least covers the payment:
| The transaction | Maximum financing | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase or rate-and-term — to $1,000,000 | 80% | From a 720 credit score |
| Purchase or rate-and-term — to $1,500,000 | 75% | From 720 |
| Purchase or rate-and-term — to $2,000,000 | 65% | From 740 |
| Purchase or rate-and-term — to $1,000,000 | 70% | From 660 — the lowest credit door on this grid |
| Cash-out — to $1,000,000 | 70% | From 720 |
| Cash-out — to $1,000,000 | 65% | From 700 |
| Cash-out — to $1,500,000 | 60% | From 720 |
| Cash-out — to $1,000,000 | 55% | From 680 |
This grid sits exactly five points under the same lender’s long-term rental grid at every rung — where a leased property reaches 85%, a nightly one reaches 80%, and so on down the ladder. That five-point haircut is the shelf’s consensus, not one lender’s quirk: a second lender reduces its own matrix by the same five points for short-term income, and a third caps short-term files at 70% where its long-term grid goes higher. Two further doors are worth knowing by name of rule rather than figure: a fourth lender will only qualify a short-term purchase on three-quarters of what the property would rent for long-term, ignoring the nightly projection entirely, and a fifth lender excludes short-term rental income altogether — a real answer that saves a wasted application. The DSCR page carries the long-term grids this one is measured against.
Representative of one lender’s short-term rental DSCR eligibility matrix published 08/13/2026, one-to-four-unit investment property, coverage ratio of 1.00 or greater. Business-purpose loans; owner occupancy is not permitted. Maximum financing, credit score and loan amount are separate limits shown only in the combinations printed together in the source. Short-term rental income is documented per that lender’s guidelines, including a market-data report, and qualifying rent is derived as described on the third tab. Figures from other programs mentioned in the notes are each that program’s own and do not combine with this table. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
The same lender prints a second short-term grid, investment property, for coverage between 0.50 and 0.99 — a property whose projected income covers only half to most of its payment. This band is rare on any shelf and rarer still for nightly rentals:
| The transaction | Maximum financing | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase or rate-and-term — to $1,000,000 | 70% | From a 720 credit score |
| Purchase or rate-and-term — to $1,500,000 | 65% | From 720 |
| Purchase or rate-and-term — to $2,000,000 | 55% | From 740 |
| Cash-out — to $1,000,000 | 60% | From 720 |
| Cash-out — to $1,500,000 | 50% | From 720 |
The condition that governs this whole table is on the third tab, and it is the most important sentence on this page: the sub-1.00 band is available only where the market-data report scores the market or submarket at sixty or better. Below that score, the minimum coverage is 1.00 and this grid closes. So a weak-market property with strong projected revenue does not get here, and a strong-market property with a thin ratio does. Compared with the 1.00-or-better grid, this band gives up ten points of leverage at every rung — 80 becomes 70, 75 becomes 65 — which is the price of the cushion the lender is not getting from the income.
Representative of the same lender’s short-term rental DSCR eligibility matrix published 08/13/2026, coverage ratio from 0.50 to 0.99, one-to-four-unit investment property, business purpose. Available only where the market-data report’s market or submarket score is 60 or greater; where the score is below 60 the minimum coverage ratio is 1.00. Maximum financing, credit score and loan amount are separate limits shown only in the combinations printed together in the source, and do not combine with the other tabs. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
The same lender’s documentation rules, which decide the ratio before any grid applies:
| The situation | What is pulled | How the qualifying rent is set |
|---|---|---|
| What counts as short-term | The definition | Rented for less than month to month — a nightly or weekly platform listing |
| A purchase | A market-data report for the address | The report’s projected annual revenue, divided by twelve |
| A purchase in a weaker market | The same report’s market score | A score below 60 raises the minimum coverage to 1.00 and closes the sub-1.00 band |
| A refinance | The market report and twelve months of third-party platform statements | The lesser of the two twelve-month averages |
| A condo | The association’s written position | Evidence the building permits short-term rentals is required |
| Paperwork not asked for | Tax transcripts and the IRS consent form | Neither is required; the borrower may own an unlimited number of financed properties |
Two of these rules do most of the work. The lesser-of rule on a refinance means a property that outperforms the model qualifies on the model, and one that underperforms qualifies on reality — the lender always takes the conservative number. And the market-score rule means the same house, with the same projected revenue, can land in different bands depending on the neighborhood’s score. A second lender adds its own version of both ideas: it reads the market for a minimum sixty percent occupancy rate, counts only eighty percent of projected annual revenue, and wants twelve months of operator experience on a purchase — that door is the fourth tab.
Representative of the same lender’s short-term rental income documentation guidelines published 08/13/2026. Market-data reports, platform income statements and condominium eligibility evidence are as specified in that source. Qualifying rent derivations are that lender’s and are applied per file. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
A different lender publishes no separate short-term grid; instead it applies a rule set on top of its long-term one-to-four-unit investment matrix. The rules are stricter and the reach is different:
| The rule | Where it lands | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum coverage | 1.15 | Fifteen percent of cushion over the payment — no sub-1.00 band here |
| Maximum financing | Five points under its long-term matrix, capped at 75% | The same five-point consensus, with a hard ceiling |
| Credit floor | 720 | Higher than its long-term floor |
| A purchase’s income | 80% of the market report’s projected annual revenue, divided by twelve | A haircut the first lender does not take |
| The market | At least a 60% occupancy rate | Read from the market report, before the property is |
| The operator | Twelve months of short-term rental experience | A first-time investor is not eligible on this door |
Three further conditions on this door: a property-screening report is pulled on every short-term file; two-to-four-unit, rural and unique properties are excluded; and a refinance qualifies on twelve months of documented short-term income. The same lender’s five-to-nine-unit program and its closed-end second on rentals both exclude short-term income entirely — the door is one-to-four units, first lien, and no wider. Set beside the first lender, the shape is clear: this door asks more of the operator and the ratio and gives a hard 75 ceiling in return; the first asks less and prints a lower band. Which one a file belongs on is decided by the coverage number and the operator’s history, usually in one conversation.
Representative of a second lender’s one-to-four-unit DSCR matrix effective 08/04/2026 and its published short-term rental rules. Business-purpose loans on investment property. Short-term rental transactions require a minimum coverage ratio of 1.15, a five-point reduction from that matrix’s stated maximum financing to a 75% ceiling, a 720 minimum credit score, documented twelve-month operator experience, a market-data report showing at least 60% occupancy, and a property-screening report; first-time investors and two-to-four-unit, rural and unique properties are ineligible. Figures do not combine with the other tabs on this page. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
The boundaries that decide these files
What you actually hand over
The address, first
The market-data report is pulled on it in minutes and settles the market score, the projected revenue and — at one lender — whether the sub-1.00 band is even open.
Twelve months of platform statements, if the property has them
From the booking platform, third-party, month by month. This is the document that moves a file from projection to history and is worth real leverage.
Proof you have done this before
Where a lender asks for operator experience, twelve months of running a short-term rental is documented like income would be on any other page.
The association’s letter, on a condo
Written confirmation that nightly rentals are permitted in the building. Requested at the start, because a no ends the file.
Reserves and the property file
No tax returns or transcripts on the anchor program, but reserves, insurance and the appraisal run as on any investment loan.
Where it wins — and the honest trade-offs
Told straight, because this page is useless otherwise.
Tax returns, employment and debt-to-income are absent. The property qualifies itself, which is the whole appeal of the instrument for anyone whose returns do not tell their story.
A purchase qualifies on a market report with no rental history. That is how the first short-term rental gets bought at all.
Rare anywhere, and rarer for nightly rentals — one lender prints it to half coverage, where the market supports it.
One prints a lower band and a 660 door; the other asks more of the operator and caps at 75. Between them most files find a fit, and the notes name three more doors and one honest no.
Five points more at every lender, and ten more again inside the sub-1.00 band. That is the cost of a lender accepting a nightly income stream instead of a lease.
Market-data revenue is what comparable listings earned, not what yours will. Lenders discount it, and so should you — the underwrite is not a business plan.
A low market score or occupancy rate closes bands and doors regardless of the property. This is the part buyers find hardest to accept, and it is checked first for that reason.
Whether a city or a building allows nightly rentals is not the lender’s problem after closing — it is the owner’s. A lender confirms the condo’s position; the municipal one is on you.
Start with the address
The market report on it takes minutes and decides the score, the projected revenue and which bands are open. Add twelve months of platform statements if the property has them, and the coverage ratio — and which of the doors on this page fits — is usually settled in the first conversation, in writing.
Questions people actually ask
Open the full Q&A — the market score, the lesser-of rule, and why history is worth real leverage ▾
+Can I get a mortgage on an Airbnb with no lease?
Yes — that is what this page is. The lender substitutes a market-data report, or your own twelve months of platform statements, for the lease, and qualifies the property on the ratio of that income to the payment. No personal income is on the file. The leverage runs five points under a leased rental at the same rung.
+What is the market score, and why does it matter so much?
One lender’s market-data report scores the market or submarket. Below 60, that lender requires the property to cover its payment at least 1.00 times; at 60 or above, a band down to half coverage opens on the projection alone. The same house can land in different bands depending on the score of the neighborhood around it, which is why the address is checked before anything else.
+Do I need to have run a short-term rental before?
On the second lender’s door, yes — twelve months of operator experience, and no first-time investors. On the first lender’s grid, no; its 660 door and its projection route exist precisely for the buyer with no history. Which door fits is decided by your experience and the coverage number together.
+I already run one. Does the history help?
It is the single most valuable thing on this page. On a refinance one lender qualifies on the lesser of your twelve-month statements and the market projection, and the other requires the documented history outright. A property that has been earning is treated as a known quantity; one that has not is a model.
+Can I use this on a condo?
If the association permits short-term rentals in writing. That letter is requested at the very start, because a building that prohibits nightly rentals ends the file no matter how strong the numbers are — and in Florida many do. The condotel page covers buildings that operate as hotels, which is a different instrument again.
+Why does one lender say no to short-term income at all?
Because nightly revenue is volatile and regulation is local, and some lenders simply decline the category. It is a useful no: it tells you which door not to knock on. Five lenders on this shelf say yes in some form, and the two with the richest published rules are the two tabs above.
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Loan programs, explained honestly
The programs described are business-purpose debt-service-coverage loans on non-owner-occupied investment property, offered through third-party lenders, subject to lender approval and underwriting approval, and change without notice; they are not consumer credit and are not available to finance a home the borrower intends to occupy. Figures on the first three tabs are representative of one lender’s short-term rental DSCR eligibility matrix and income documentation guidelines published 08/13/2026; the fourth tab is representative of a second lender’s one-to-four-unit DSCR matrix and short-term rental rules effective 08/04/2026; programs referenced in the notes are each described from their own published materials. Figures from different programs never combine. Maximum financing, credit score, loan amount and coverage ratio are separate limits shown only in combinations printed together in each source, and are subject to appraisal, reserves, property eligibility and each lender’s documentation requirements. Qualifying income is derived from market-data reports and/or documented rental history as each lender specifies; market-score and occupancy thresholds are each lender’s and are applied per file. Short-term rental use must be permitted by the property, its association where applicable, and local law; compliance with local regulation is the borrower’s responsibility. Rate, term and prepayment provisions are disclosed per file. Not all applicants or properties will qualify. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Opportunity.