Loan program comparisons
Loan Program Comparisons: what do real estate investors need to know?
Head-to-head comparisons of DSCR, conventional, foreign national, ITIN, bridge, and hard money loan programs. Final eligibility, pricing, and terms are subject to a complete application, credit and property review, and full underwriting.
- Head-to-head comparisons of DSCR, conventional, foreign national, ITIN, bridge, and hard money loan programs.
- Every figure shown is an estimate for business-purpose investment property financing only — not an offer or commitment to lend.
- Simply Approved Mortgages is a licensed mortgage broker (NMLS #2620881), licensed for residential lending in Florida and Colorado and arranging business-purpose investor loans across our approved 37-jurisdiction footprint.
DSCR vs Conventional Investment Loans
Both loan types finance rental property, but they qualify borrowers in completely different ways. DSCR loans qualify the property based on its rent-to-payment ratio. Conventional l…
Foreign National vs ITIN Loans
Both programs serve non-citizen borrowers, but the underlying borrower profile is different. Foreign national loans are for non-resident investors (living abroad) buying US rental …
Hard Money vs DSCR Loans
Hard money is short-term, asset-based, and priced for speed. DSCR is long-term, cash-flow-based, and priced for hold. Most experienced investors use both — hard money to acquire an…
Bridge vs DSCR — When to Use Each
Bridge is the entry vehicle when a property isn't yet rent-ready or you need to close on the seller's timeline. DSCR is the take-out once the property is stabilized. Sequenced corr…
Mid-Term vs Short-Term Rental
Both are furnished rental strategies, but they behave like different businesses. Mid-term rentals lease 30 days to under a year to travel nurses, relocating professionals, and insu…
Cap Rate vs Cash-on-Cash Return
These two metrics answer different questions and investors lose money by confusing them. Cap rate is NOI divided by value — it strips financing out entirely so two properties can b…
Investment Property HELOC vs Cash-Out Refinance
Both pull equity out of a rental, but they treat your existing first mortgage very differently. A second-lien investment property HELOC sits behind the loan you already have, so a …
DSCR Loan vs BRRRR Strategy
BRRRR is a strategy; a DSCR loan is a product. Investors buying a rent-ready property finance it once with a DSCR loan. Investors buying a distressed property use short-term bridge…
DSCR Loan vs Fix & Flip Loan
The exit strategy picks the loan. If you intend to hold and rent the property, a DSCR loan gives you a long amortising term priced off the rent the property produces. If you intend…
DSCR Long-Term Rental vs Short-Term and Mid-Term Rental Financing
The program difference is not the property — it is how the rent is documented and counted. Long-term rental DSCR uses the signed lease or market rent from the appraiser's rent sche…
How We Evaluate This Scenario
A DSCR file is judged on the property, not your tax returns: qualifying rent divided by PITIA — principal, interest, taxes, insurance, plus HOA and flood where they apply. Most programs use the lesser of the in-place lease rent and the appraiser's market rent, so a lease signed below market usually caps the ratio no matter how strong the comps look.
Three inputs move the outcome more than anything else: rent support on the appraiser's rent schedule (Form 1007 or 1025), the LTV tier, and the credit tier. Dropping leverage by five points or moving up a FICO band frequently changes pricing more than shopping a different lender does.
Before you write an offer, price taxes and insurance at post-sale levels rather than the seller's current bill. In reassess-on-transfer states and in coastal insurance markets, that single adjustment is the most common reason a deal that penciled at contract fails the ratio at underwriting.
Reviewed by Simply Approved Mortgages · NMLS #2620881. Business-purpose investor lending only.
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