DSCR Calculator

Tools

Enter the rent and the payment components. The calculator returns your DSCR, the tier it lands in, the leverage that tier supports, and the rent you would need to reach the next tier up.

Reading the result

Three numbers move your DSCR, and they are not equally easy to change.

• Loan amount is the lever you control completely. Every $10,000 less borrowed cuts roughly $67 a month off P&I at 7.125% on a 30-year term. Dropping from 80% to 75% LTV on a $400,000 property adds roughly 0.05 to a typical ratio.
• Structure is the second lever. Interest-only or a 40-year amortization lowers the payment and lifts the ratio without more cash down. Both require 680+ FICO and cap at 75% LTV on purchase. See requirements.
• Rent is mostly out of your hands at underwriting. If the property is vacant, the appraiser's Form 1007 sets it. If a lease is in place below market, the lender uses the lower figure — which is why buying a property with a below-market tenant in place can price worse than buying it empty.

Worked example

A $400,000 fourplex in a Hudson Valley market, 25% down, $300,000 loan at 7.125% on a 30-year fixed. Taxes $9,200, insurance $2,400, no HOA. Four units at $1,150 each, $4,600 gross.

That file prices at the best tier with room to spare. Note what DSCR does not measure: vacancy, management, maintenance, or capital expenditure. A 1.54 DSCR and a genuinely profitable property are different questions — run the second one on the cash flow and returns calculator.

This calculator is an estimating tool for education only. Results are not a quote, a rate lock, a pre-approval, or a loan commitment. Actual PITIA depends on the appraised value, the tax assessment following transfer, the bound insurance premium, and lender-specific escrow requirements.