A DSCR (debt service coverage ratio) loan is a business-purpose mortgage on a rental property, based on the property’s own rent instead of your personal income.
Run the numbers first: DSCR calculator
We make them on rentals across Monmouth County, the Jersey Shore and the rest of New Jersey, from our office in West Long Branch and our licensed branch in Manalapan. For business purposes only.
See what the rent supports, then talk the property through.
Fidelity Residential · NMLS #103098 · Equal Housing Lender
Fidelity Residential is a direct mortgage lender licensed in New Jersey under a Residential Mortgage Lender License. Our New Jersey office is at 121 NJ-36, Suite 230, West Long Branch, and our licensed branch is at 1 Yorktowne Drive, Manalapan (branch NMLS ID #2103558).
We finance rentals throughout Monmouth County, in towns such as Long Branch, Asbury Park, Red Bank, Neptune, Freehold and Belmar, and in the rest of New Jersey. A licensed loan officer who works with local landlords can look at the lease, the tax bill and the costs of the property you have in mind and tell you early how the rent compares with the payment, before you spend money on an appraisal.
DSCR stands for debt service coverage ratio. The lender compares the property’s monthly rent with its full monthly payment: principal, interest, property taxes, insurance and any association dues. That comparison, the ratio, takes the place of your personal income.
No tax returns, pay stubs or debt-to-income ratio are used. Your credit, your record of housing payments, the money for the down payment and reserves, and the appraisal are still checked. The rent used is generally the lower of the lease and the appraiser’s market rent.
It is a business-purpose loan for landlords and investors buying or refinancing a property nobody on the loan will live in. You can hold title in your own name or in a company, such as a limited liability company, with the owners signing as personal guarantors.
A worked example, in words. Say you are buying a two-family house in Monmouth County to rent out.
The DSCR calculator does this arithmetic with your own figures and shows the loan size the rent would support. It is an estimate, not a decision.
Each figure below is one program’s own limit, and they do not all apply to the same loan.
One program, for loans up to $1,000,000: scores from 620; up to 85% of the price with a score of 720 or higher; cash-out up to 80% with a score of 720 or higher; no reserves at 65% of value or less, three months above. Each figure has its own conditions.
The figures above are as of 29 October 2026 and will be reviewed by 29 November 2026. Apart from the one program shown on its own, each is one program’s own limit, and they do not come together in one loan. They are program limits, not an offer or a loan decision; programs change their terms without notice, and your loan depends on credit, the property, its rent and underwriting review.
Two things to get right early on a New Jersey rental.
Property taxes are part of the monthly payment the rent has to cover, together with principal, interest, insurance and any association dues. When you run the DSCR calculator for a New Jersey rental, enter the tax bill of the property itself, because the taxes on the home you have in mind feed straight into the ratio. For questions about the taxes themselves, ask your tax adviser.
A Shore house let to a tenant on a lease is a DSCR loan like any other rental. A house let by the night or week through a booking platform is financed through our short-term rental loans, where local rules allow the property to be let short-term, so check your town’s rules before you buy. Both are for business purposes only.
Our article on New Jersey property taxes and the ratio goes through each of these.
Each program sets its own rules for the property. These are the main kinds we finance.
A single home let to a tenant on a lease, or one you are buying to rent out. The rent is taken from the lease and the appraiser’s rent schedule.
The rent of every unit counts toward the ratio. Nobody on the loan may live in any of the units.
Small apartment buildings, and buildings with homes and a shop or office, based on the building’s rent. The appraisal and the reserves ask for more, and the programs want an experienced landlord.
Loans for five to ten units and mixed useA house, condo or two to four units let through a booking platform. Programs count this income differently from a lease, and the property must be allowed to be let short-term where local rules require it.
Short-term rental loansBuy a rental, refinance to change the loan, or take cash out of a rental you own.
How a cash-out refinance worksIf you bought and renovated with a fix and flip loan and decide to keep the property, a DSCR loan can replace the short-term loan once the property is rented.
Fix and flip loans in New JerseyNo tax returns or pay stubs. Most New Jersey investors can start with these.
The steps. Tell us about the property; we check credit and you send statements; the appraiser values the property and reports market rent, and we work out the ratio; you sign a statement that the loan is for business purposes and that nobody on the loan will live in the property; then underwriting, title, insurance and closing. Our DSCR loan guide has the detail, and the DSCR calculator works out the ratio from the rent and costs you enter.
Not sure a DSCR loan is the right fit? A conventional investment loan is underwritten on your own income; a DSCR loan on the property’s rent. See DSCR or conventional investment loan, or test a deal first with the rental deal analyzer.
The rental’s expected rent compared with its full monthly payment, including New Jersey property taxes, insurance and any association dues. No tax returns, pay stubs or debt-to-income ratio are used. Your credit, your record of housing payments, the money for the down payment and reserves, and the appraisal with its rent schedule are still checked, and nobody on the loan may live in the property. See the full requirements.
Often about two to three weeks once the file is complete. The appraisal, with its rent schedule, and the title work can move it, so having the lease, your bank statements and any company documents ready helps most.
Yes. Fidelity Residential is a dba of PFN Lending Group, Inc. (NMLS #103098), which holds a New Jersey Residential Mortgage Lender License. You can check it on NMLS Consumer Access (opens in a new tab). DSCR loans are for business purposes only.
Our office is at 121 NJ-36, Suite 230, West Long Branch, NJ 07764, and our licensed branch is at 1 Yorktowne Drive, Manalapan, NJ 07726. Call 732-686-9999 to talk with a licensed loan officer.
Check the lender’s licence on NMLS Consumer Access, then ask the same questions of each one: how the rent is counted (the lease, the appraiser’s market rent, or the lower of the two), whether a property whose ratio is below one can be considered, whether a company can hold title, and what the prepayment terms are. Ask for the terms in writing for the same property, so you compare like with like.
On a New Jersey rental, a loan in your own name generally carries no prepayment penalty at the programs we work with; some programs allow one only when the borrower is a corporation, and some never do. Ask us which applies to your loan.
Yes, as an investment property. A house let on a lease uses a DSCR loan; a house let by the night or week uses a short-term rental loan, where local rules allow short-term letting. Check your town’s rules before you buy.
No. A DSCR loan is for investment property only. Nobody on the loan may live in the property, even part of the year, and you sign a statement saying so. A second home of your own needs a different kind of loan; a loan officer can tell you which.
No. The property’s rent takes the place of your income. Your credit, your assets and the appraisal are still checked.
Yes. Title can be in your own name or in a company such as a limited liability company, and the owners sign as personal guarantors. We tell you which company documents to send.
Divide the monthly qualifying rent by the full monthly payment: principal, interest, property taxes, insurance and any association dues. The qualifying rent is generally the lower of the lease and the appraiser’s market rent. On a New Jersey rental, use the property’s own tax bill, and add flood insurance if the property needs it. The DSCR calculator does the arithmetic for you.
It differs by program. Some programs consider a property whose ratio is below one; others need the rent to cover the payment in full, at one or above, so fewer programs fit. The ratio, together with your credit, the loan size and the property, also sets how much you can borrow against the value. Ask a loan officer about the property you have in mind.
Yes. A DSCR loan can buy a rental, refinance to change the loan, or take cash out of a rental you own. The rent, your credit, your assets and the appraisal are checked the same way. See how a cash-out refinance works.
Most programs want some, and you list the rentals you own where the program asks. Some programs accept first-time investors on tighter terms. Loans on buildings of five to ten units and mixed use are for experienced landlords.
A home you are buying to rent out can be financed on its rent, taken from the appraiser’s rent schedule. A vacant property can lower how much you can borrow against the value, so tell your loan officer at the start whether the property is rented or vacant.
A conventional investment loan is underwritten on your own income, debts and credit; a DSCR loan on the property’s rent. If your tax returns show your income and your debts leave room, ask for a conventional quote too. If write-offs lower your returns, you already own several financed rentals or you want a company to hold title, a DSCR loan may fit better. Price both for the same property. DSCR or conventional, compared.
Get a quote online, or call and talk the property through with a licensed loan officer.
Business purpose investor loans are for investment property only.
This page is general information, not a commitment to lend. Programs, terms and eligibility depend on credit, property, rent and underwriting review and are subject to change without notice.
Reviewed by Robert Shamie, CEO, NMLS #241428 · Last reviewed:
Fidelity Residential (PFN Lending Group, Inc., NMLS #103098) is a direct mortgage lender licensed in 40 states and the District of Columbia, with 26 years in business.