Investor lending
DSCR and investment property loans in Kentucky. The rent qualifies. Your tax returns stay in the drawer.
If your returns show a well-depreciated, carefully written-down income, conventional underwriting will punish you for being good at this. A DSCR loan looks at the property instead.
A conversation first. No application and no credit check to get an answer.
The problem this solves
An investor doing the job properly maximises depreciation, expenses every legitimate cost, and presents a tax return showing modest income. Then they apply for a mortgage, and conventional underwriting reads that same return literally and concludes they cannot afford anything.
DSCR financing steps around that entirely. The lender is not underwriting you. It is underwriting whether the property carries itself. Rent divided by the full monthly obligation — principal, interest, taxes, insurance and any association dues — produces a ratio, and the ratio is the decision.
Reading the ratio
- 1.20 and above — strong. Prices well across most programs and gives you room on the down payment.
- 1.00 to 1.20 — workable. Clears the usual bar; pricing tightens as you move up the range.
- Below 1.00 — the rent does not fully carry the payment. Still financeable under some programs with more money down, but it is a conversation rather than a form.
Louisville is a comparatively friendly market for this. Purchase prices here sit low enough relative to achievable rents that properties clear 1.00 far more readily than in the markets these products were designed around — which also means the 20 to 25 percent down payment is a smaller absolute number than an out-of-state investor might assume.
Why the ceiling matters more than the rate
A conventional investor loan will usually price better than a DSCR loan. It also stops working after a while. Every additional mortgage lands on your personal debt ratios, and eventually the next purchase simply does not qualify no matter how well the portfolio performs.
DSCR removes that ceiling, because each property stands on its own. For an investor who intends to keep buying, the slightly higher rate buys the ability to continue — which is worth considerably more than the spread.
Ryan owns investment property himself, so this is not a product he learned from a rate sheet.
Where the down payment tends to come from
Most repeat purchases here are funded from equity already sitting in something else. A HELOC or second mortgage in Kentucky against a property you already own keeps the first mortgage untouched — which matters if that loan carries a rate you would not want to give up — and a cash-out refinance in Louisville is the alternative when the existing rate is no longer worth protecting.
Which of those is right depends on the rate on the loan you already have, and that is a five-minute conversation rather than a guess.
Run the numbers
Does the rent cover the payment?
Enter the rent and the full monthly payment including taxes, insurance and dues. Most programs want 1.00 or better; 1.20 prices well.
Defaults reflect Louisville-area rents and payments rather than a coastal market. These are illustrative estimates, not a rate quote, an offer, or a commitment to lend. Your real figures depend on your full file. Every other program has its own calculator — they are collected here.
Debt service coverage ratio
—
monthly rent ÷ full monthly payment (PITIA)
Check these against your fileCommon questions
What is a DSCR loan?
Debt service coverage ratio. Instead of qualifying you on your personal income and tax returns, the lender qualifies the property on whether its rent covers its own payment. Divide the monthly rent by the full monthly payment including taxes, insurance and any association dues, and the resulting number is the ratio. Most programs want to see 1.00 or better, and pricing improves as it climbs.
Do I need to show tax returns for a DSCR loan?
No, and that is the entire point of the product. There are no tax returns, no W-2s, no pay stubs and usually no debt-to-income calculation at all. Investors whose returns show heavily depreciated, written-down income — which is to say most competent investors — stop being penalised for good accounting.
How much down payment does a DSCR loan need in Kentucky?
Typically 20 to 25 percent, occasionally more depending on the ratio, the property type and your credit. A stronger coverage ratio can reduce the down payment requirement, and it certainly improves the rate. Louisville's price points make that down payment far more attainable than the same percentage would be in a coastal market.
Can I use a DSCR loan to buy multiple rentals?
Yes, and this is where they become genuinely useful. Because qualification rests on each property's own performance rather than your personal debt ratios, you do not hit the wall that conventional financing eventually imposes on an investor holding several mortgages. Portfolio growth stops being limited by your own income.
Does short-term rental income count?
It can, though programs handle it differently. Some will use documented short-term rental history for the property; others require a long-term market rent figure regardless of how you actually intend to run it. Which lender you use makes a substantial difference to the numbers here — worth raising before you write an offer on a property whose economics depend on nightly rates.
No credit pull · No obligation
Put your DSCR loan scenario in front of Ryan.
Send the shape of your situation and Ryan will tell you where you actually stand — including when the answer is that a different program, or a different month, serves you better. He reads these himself.
🔒 Nothing on this form touches your credit. No Social Security number, no pay stubs, no application — just enough for Ryan to give you a straight answer. Equal Housing Opportunity. Ryan Miles, NMLS #112627 · Coast 2 Coast Mortgage, LLC, NMLS #376205.