| 1–4 unit long-term rental | Purchase: the lower of the in-place lease or market rent (market if there is no lease; proposed leases don't count). Refinance: the lower of lease or market — a lease above market with a rent receipt counts up to 115% of market. Vacant units not permitted on a refinance. |
| Short-term rental (1–4 unit) | Purchase: market rent from the appraisal. Refinance: the lower of market rent or the verified 12-month average. Minimum DSCR 1.00; loans cap at $1,500,000. |
| Condotel | Purchase: 80% of market rent. Refinance: the lower of 80% of market or 80% of the verified 12-month average. Minimum DSCR 1.00. |
| 5–8 units | Purchase: lower of lease or market per occupied unit; vacant units at 90% of market. Refinance: with a receipt, lower of lease or market; without one, lower of lease or 90% of market; vacant units at 90% of market, and no more than 35% of units vacant. |
| Qualifying payment (all programs) | 30-year fixed and 5/6 ARM: the 30-year amortizing payment. Any 10-year interest-only option: the interest-only payment (balance × rate ÷ 12). |
| Program floors | Minimum loan $150,000 on 1–4 unit, short-term rental and condotel programs; short-term rentals and first-time investors need a DSCR of at least 1.00. |
Rent divided by payment looks fine on a napkin — then the lender's number comes back lower. The rent did not change; every DSCR program applies rules to it first. A lease above market gets capped, a short-term rental's history is tested against market, a condotel takes a haircut, a vacant unit counts at a discount. Stonehaven's DSCR Program Calculator applies those rules unit by unit for the four programs the desk runs — the same math the desk runs first, not an approval. Here is what each program does to your rent.
1–4 unit long-term rentals: lower of lease or market, plus the 115% receipt cap
On a purchase, the qualifying rent is the lower of the in-place lease and the appraiser's market rent — market rent if the property has no lease, and a proposed lease does not count. On a refinance the same lower-of rule applies, with one exception: if the lease is above market and you can show a rent receipt, the lease counts up to 115% of market. Without the receipt, the qualifying rent falls back to the lower of lease or market. Vacant units are not permitted on a 1–4 unit refinance. Illustration: market rent $2,000, lease $2,400 with a receipt. The refinance qualifying rent is $2,300 — 115% of $2,000 caps the $2,400 lease. Without the receipt it is $2,000, and on a purchase it is $2,000 regardless.
Short-term rentals: market rent on a purchase, verified history on a refinance
A 1–4 unit short-term rental qualifies on the appraiser's market rent when purchased. On a refinance, the qualifying rent is the lower of market rent and the 12-month average verified by a third-party management provider, so a strong booking history cannot lift the number above market, but a weak one can pull it below. Two limits apply: loans cap at $1,500,000, and the DSCR must be at least 1.00 — no-ratio options are not available for short-term rentals. Illustration: market rent $3,000. A verified 12-month average of $3,600 qualifies at $3,000 on a refinance, while a verified average of $2,700 qualifies at $2,700. On a purchase the property qualifies at $3,000 either way.
Condotels: an 80% haircut on both sides and a 1.00 floor
Condotel units — condominiums operated as hotel rooms — take the steepest discount. A purchase qualifies at 80% of market rent. A refinance qualifies at the lower of 80% of market and 80% of the verified 12-month average. The minimum DSCR is 1.00. Illustration: market rent $2,500 qualifies at $2,000 on a purchase. On a refinance with a verified average of $2,250, the qualifying rent is $1,800 — 80% of the lower figure. Against an illustrative full monthly payment of $1,900, that is a 0.95 ratio, below the 1.00 floor, so the structure would have to change — a smaller balance, or an interest-only option — before it could qualify.
5–8 units: 90% for vacancy, 90% without a receipt, and a 35% vacancy cap on refinances
A vacant unit counts at 90% of market rent on either transaction. On a purchase, an occupied unit counts at the lower of its lease and market. On a refinance, an occupied unit with a rent receipt counts at the lower of lease and market; without a receipt it counts at the lower of the lease and 90% of market. And on a refinance no more than 35% of the units may be vacant. Illustration: a six-unit refinance with market rent of $1,200 per unit. Four units leased at $1,250 with receipts count at $1,200 each; one unit leased at $1,250 without a receipt counts at $1,080; one vacant unit counts at $1,080. Qualifying rent: $6,960 a month — not the $7,200 gross at market, and not the $6,250 the five leases add up to. One vacant unit of six (17%) stays under the 35% cap.
Run your own numbers
One rule spans all four programs: the payment side. 30-year fixed and 5/6 ARM structures qualify on the 30-year amortizing payment; every 10-year interest-only option qualifies on the interest-only payment (balance × rate ÷ 12), which is why interest-only can move a borderline ratio. Program floors apply too: a $150,000 minimum loan on 1–4 unit, short-term rental and condotel programs, and a 1.00 minimum for first-time investors. The DSCR Program Calculator applies every rule above as you type, with your own rate, and returns qualifying rent, PITIA, DSCR and LTV with the program flags. It is the same math the desk runs first, not an approval; lenders also weigh credit, reserves and property condition. The examples above are illustrations, not offers. Run your property through the calculator, compare lender DSCR with investor cash flow in the DSCR analyzer, or request a deal review to have a specialist confirm the program.