What Is a 1007 Rent Schedule for DSCR Loans?

What a 1007 rent schedule does in DSCR underwriting

Form 1007, formally the Single Family Comparable Rent Schedule, is the part of an appraisal where the appraiser states an opinion of what the subject property should rent for at market. It carries the property details, three rental comparables, an adjustment grid, and a reconciled monthly market rent figure — a structure walked through in this breakdown of the 1007 for DSCR loans.

That single number does real work. Because a DSCR home loan is underwritten against the property’s operating income rather than a borrower’s pay stubs, the appraised rent is what the debt service coverage ratio is built from. A rent conclusion that lands under your projection can shrink the loan amount, change pricing, or stall the file — which is why the 1007 quietly sits at the center of most DSCR requirements.

Investors usually arrive with the same practical questions: when in the appraisal process the form gets ordered, what data the appraiser is allowed to use, and which rent controls when a lease already exists. Some lenders take the lower of the 1007 rent or the in-place lease, which matters on a refinance with a below-market tenant. Vacant properties raise the opposite issue. And short-term rental income sits outside the form’s purpose, since the 1007 measures long-term market rent.

The sections ahead cover each step.

What the 1007 rent schedule is and where it fits in the appraisal process

Form 1007 is the Single Family Comparable Rent Schedule — the document a licensed appraiser completes to give a supported opinion of market rent for a single-family investment property. Fannie Mae describes its purpose plainly: the lender uses the form to obtain market rent for a single-family investment property from the appraiser. That last part matters. The 1007 is not something you fill out, and it is not a statement of what you collect today. It is an appraisal exhibit, ordered alongside the standard appraisal report and delivered as part of the same package.

Inside the form, an appraiser lists the subject property’s details, then presents rental comparables — typically three leased or actively listed rentals in the same market — with an adjustment grid that accounts for differences in square footage, bedroom and bathroom count, garage, condition, amenities, and lot characteristics. The appraiser then reconciles those adjusted figures into a single monthly market rent conclusion. That reconciled number is the figure your underwriter works from.

One boundary is worth knowing before you order the appraisal: the form was built to estimate long-term monthly market rent, and appraisal management firm Class Valuation explains in its analysis of Form 1007 and short-term rentals that it cannot be stretched to reflect nightly pricing or seasonal occupancy. Nightly-rate strategies require a different income analysis.

When the completed package reaches the lender, the reconciled rent from the 1007 becomes the income input that DSCR requirements are measured against — which is why a low rent conclusion changes your loan math, not just your paperwork.

Why DSCR lenders rely on the 1007 to estimate market rent and size the loan

A debt service coverage ratio loan is underwritten on the asset, so the lender needs a defensible rent figure before it can size anything. The Single Family Comparable Rent Schedule supplies it: an appraiser’s independent opinion of long-term market rent, built from rental comps and an adjustment grid, rather than a lease copy handed over by the borrower. A lease is a private agreement between two parties and may reflect a family discount, a legacy tenant, or a below-market renewal. The appraised conclusion answers a different question — what would this unit rent for today?

That number then drives the underwriting math. The rent used becomes the numerator of the coverage ratio, and the payment — principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any association dues — becomes the denominator. Because most DSCR requirements set a floor on that ratio, the rent conclusion effectively caps the payment the property can carry, which in turn caps the loan amount, the leverage, and sometimes the rate tier a file qualifies for. A rent opinion that lands $200 below expectations can move a deal from approved to short on coverage without anything else changing.

The form carries the most weight when there is no reliable lease to lean on: a vacant unit, a property purchased mid-turnover, a cash-out refinance where the borrower rents to a relative, or a unit leased well under market. When a lease does exist, lenders commonly qualify on the lower of the appraised market rent or the contract rent, so a strong lease does not automatically override a conservative appraisal.

One limit worth knowing: as Class Valuation explains in its breakdown of Form 1007, the form measures long-term rent and is not designed to document short-term rental income.

How appraisers complete Form 1007 and what data they use

The appraiser’s task on the Single Family Comparable Rent Schedule is narrow: form an opinion of long-term market rent for the subject property and show the work. Fannie Mae’s instructions for Form 1007 describe it as the vehicle a lender uses to obtain market rent for a single-family investment property from the appraiser.

The work starts with the subject property line — address, gross living area, bedroom and bathroom count, garage, and condition. From there, the appraiser pulls three rental comparables, either recently leased or currently listed for rent, drawn from the subject’s market area. Tight urban submarkets usually produce comps within about a mile; rural properties may require a wider search.

Each comp gets its own column and its own set of line-item adjustments. The usual variables are square footage, bed and bath count, garage space, overall condition, amenities such as central air or in-unit laundry, and lot characteristics. If a comp is smaller than the subject, its rent is adjusted upward; if it carries an extra bathroom, adjusted downward. The result is three “indicated rent” figures for the same house.

Reconciliation is the step investors tend to overlook. The appraiser does not average the three numbers — they weight them, giving more credibility to the comp that needed the fewest adjustments or sits closest to the subject. One reconciled monthly figure lands on the bottom line, and that single number is what an underwriter carries into the debt service coverage ratio calculation and measures against the lender’s DSCR requirements.

Because the conclusion is only as good as the comps behind it, thin local rental data is the most common reason a rent schedule disappoints. In a market with few recent leases, an appraiser may reach for older or less similar properties, and a conservative comp set can produce a market rent well below what a landlord is actually collecting.

When the 1007 matters most and the mistakes borrowers make

The Single Family Comparable Rent Schedule carries the most weight in four situations: a purchase where no lease exists yet, a refinance where the lender needs an independent rent opinion, a property sitting vacant between tenants, and a unit rented well below market to a long-term or family tenant. In each case, the appraiser’s reconciled market rent — not the borrower’s projection — is what feeds the debt service coverage ratio and, by extension, the loan amount you qualify for.

That leads to the question investors ask most: does my signed lease control? Not always. As one lender explainer on rent schedule versus actual lease rent notes, some programs use the lower of the appraised market rent or the in-place rent. A lease above market rarely lifts your qualifying income; a lease below market can drag it down.

Short-term rental income is a separate conversation. Because Form 1007 documents a long-term monthly market rent opinion, appraisal guidance on why the form doesn’t fit short-term rentals makes clear that nightly revenue needs different documentation entirely.

Three mistakes come up repeatedly. Borrowers submit pro forma rent from a spreadsheet and assume underwriting will accept it. They ignore the rental comps nearby — thin or dated comps in a small market invite a conservative conclusion. And they treat the form as a formality, when a low rent opinion can shrink a loan or break dscr requirements outright, while a strong one can lift proceeds.

How the 1007 rent schedule connects back to rental-property financing

Strip away the form number and the Single Family Comparable Rent Schedule does one job: it gives the lender an independent, documented opinion of long-term market rent so that rent can be run through the underwriting math. That opinion matters most when the property is vacant, newly acquired, or leased under market — the situations where a copy of the lease alone won’t answer the question. Some lenders will use the lower of the appraiser’s conclusion or the actual lease, as one DSCR lender’s comparison of rent schedule versus actual rent explains, so a strong rent conclusion isn’t automatic.

The practical takeaway: treat the rent schedule as part of loan sizing, not a document you sign at closing. The reconciled rent figure feeds the debt service coverage ratio, and the coverage ratio drives how much leverage the deal supports.

Have a rental property scenario you want reviewed against real DSCR requirements? Request a quote from Aspire Mortgage.