Florida DSCR Loans

DSCR loans in Florida qualify you on the property’s rental income rather than your personal income, employment or tax returns.

Key features of DSCR loans in Florida

• Qualifies on rental income, where DSCR equals rent divided by PITIA
• No personal income verification
• No employment verification
• No tax returns or bank statements
• Loan amounts above $5 million
• One to four units, condos and townhomes
• Some lenders accept short-term rental income from Airbnb or VRBO
• Interest-only options
• You can vest title in an LLC

How the ratio works, and why Florida makes it harder

DSCR divides the property’s monthly rent by its full monthly cost, and that cost is PITIA: principal, interest, taxes, insurance and HOA dues. A property renting for $3,000 against $2,500 of PITIA scores 1.20.

Here is where Florida differs from the rest of the country. Two of those five letters have moved sharply against investors. Homeowners and windstorm premiums have climbed across the state, and condo HOA dues have risen hard since the post-Surfside reserve requirements took effect. Because both sit in the denominator, the same rent buys a worse ratio than it did three years ago. An investor who penciled 1.25 on a Tampa condo in 2022 may find the identical unit scores below 1.0 today, purely on insurance and dues.

Therefore quote the insurance before you write the offer, not during underwriting. On coastal and condo deals the premium can swing the ratio by 0.15 or more on its own, which is the difference between a clean approval and a declined file.

What your ratio buys you

Most lenders will fund below 1.0, often down to 0.75, but the pricing tells the story. At 1.25 and above you see the best rate and the lowest down payment. Between 1.0 and 1.25 you pay a modest premium. Below 1.0 you are paying meaningfully more and putting more down, since the property no longer covers its own costs. If your ratio lands just under a threshold, adding a few thousand to the down payment sometimes drops the payment enough to cross it. Ask for both quotes and compare.

Who this suits

• Investors buying rental property who would rather not document personal income
• Investors past the ten-property ceiling that conventional financing imposes
• Self-employed buyers whose returns understate their cash flow
• Operators scaling a Florida rental portfolio
• Short-term rental operators, where the lender accepts that income

Florida-specific notes

• Florida leads the country in DSCR loan volume
• The strongest rental markets remain Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale
• Tourist areas such as Orlando, Miami Beach and the Keys carry deep short-term rental demand, although local ordinances restrict it in places
• Since Florida levies no state income tax, rental income faces federal tax only
• Flood insurance is mandatory across much of coastal Florida and lands directly in your PITIA
• Condo HOA dues belong in the calculation too, and they have risen faster than rents in several markets

DSCR programs sit outside agency guidelines, so ratios, pricing and short-term rental treatment vary by lender and change often. Florida condo reserve requirements follow Florida Statutes 553.899 and 718.112. The CFPB owning a home guide covers how to compare offers.