Which Lenders Do DSCR Loans on Short-Term Rentals?

Plenty of DSCR lenders advertise “short-term rentals OK” and then haircut the income into a decline. Here is how STR DSCR lending really segments, and what to compare before you apply.

How STR DSCR Loans Differ From Standard Rental DSCR

• Income basis: standard DSCR uses a lease or market rent; STR programs layer in booking history or third-party revenue projections — each with its own haircut rules.
• Eligible property types: single-family vacation homes, lakefront and mountain cabins, condos (lender condo review applies), 2–4 unit buildings run as STRs, and urban Airbnbs where local ordinances allow.
• Legality checks: lenders verify permits and local STR rules — ordinance problems kill more of these files than credit does.
• Conservative dials: expect slightly lower leverage caps and higher reserve asks than long-term rental DSCR, because projected income carries uncertainty.

What to Compare Across STR Lenders

• Occupancy rules: pure investment only, or limited personal-use allowances — programs differ.
• DSCR minimums and how they compute STR income: gross booking revenue vs. net, trailing-12 vs. projection, haircut percentage.
• Credit floors and reserve months — both run a notch stricter than standard DSCR at many shops.
• State coverage: STR appetite varies by state and even by market within a state.

Why a Business-Purpose Broker Matters for STRs

Every STR loan we arrange is business purpose — the property is an investment you do not occupy, which is what enables property-based qualification in the roughly 36 states we serve. Because STR appetite is the single most variable guideline across our wholesale panel, this is the file type where broker-shopping earns its keep most visibly: one application, placed with the lender whose STR rules fit your property and market.

Frequently Asked Questions