DSCR cash-out refinance
DSCR cash-out refinance: pull equity from a rental on the rent, not your tax returns.
A 30-year loan on an investment property you already own, sized on its value and qualified on its rent. Use it to get your cash back after an all-cash purchase, to replace a maturing hard-money loan at the end of a BRRRR, or to fund the next deal. Up to 75% of value with 680+ credit, no balloon, and no upfront fees.
Cash‑out or rate‑and‑term?
A rate-and-term refinance pays off the existing loan and the closing costs and nothing more. With 700+ credit it can go to 80% of value (loans from $200,000, property value to $1 million). A cash-out refinance puts money in your account and goes to 75%. Cash-out adds 0.25% to 0.375% to the rate, so if you only need to replace a loan, price it as rate-and-term. Buying rather than refinancing? A purchase can go to 85% with the 85% LTV DSCR purchase program.
The six-month rule
How long you have owned the property decides what the loan is sized on.
- Owned less than six months: the loan is limited to what you paid plus documented improvements, and it still cannot exceed the LTV limit. Keep every invoice.
- Owned six months or more: the loan is sized on the appraised value (twelve months with some lending partners).
- Listed for sale recently: the property cannot have been listed in the last 30 days.
Who qualifies
- Borrower: an individual, LLC, corporation or limited partnership. US citizens and permanent residents. Up to two individual borrowers.
- Credit: three scores pulled, middle score used. 680+ for up to 75%; 660–679 at lower leverage. No bankruptcy, foreclosure or deed-in-lieu in the last three years.
- DSCR: 1.00 or higher for the standard limits. Below 1.00 on a long-term rental, down to 0.80, cash-out is still possible at 65% with 720+ credit.
- Reserves: six months of the full payment (PITIA). Cash-out proceeds can count toward them.
- Property: 1–4 units, condos and townhomes, leased or vacant but rent-ready. Non-owner-occupied, no family occupancy, condition C1–C4, up to 5 acres, minimum value $125,000.
Cash-out snapshot
- Max LTV, cash-out
- 75%*
- Max LTV, rate-and-term
- 80%
- Min FICO
- 660 (680 for 75%)
- Min DSCR
- 1.00 (0.80 at 720+)
- Sized on
- Appraised value after 6 months
- Rate add-on
- 0.25% – 0.375%
- Loan size
- $100k – $3.5M
- Term
- 30 years, no balloon
- Structures
- 30-year fixed, ARM, interest-only
- Reserves
- 6 months PITIA, proceeds count
Cash-out limits by credit and loan size
| Credit and size | Cash-out | Rate-and-term |
|---|---|---|
| 700+ · loan $200k+, value to $1M | 75% | 80% |
| 680–699 · loan $200k+, value to $1M | 75% | 75% |
| 680+ · loan $150k–$199k | 75% | 75% |
| Loan under $150k | 70% | 70% |
| 700+ · value $1M–$1.5M | 70% | 70% |
| 720+ · value $1.5M–$2M | 60% | 60% |
| 700+ · loan to $3.5M | 65% | 65% |
| 660–679 · loan to $1.5M | 70% | 70–75% |
| 720+ · DSCR 0.80–0.99 | 65% | 65% |
Worked example: refinancing a cash purchase at month four and at month seven
You bought a single-family rental for $180,000 cash and spent $20,000 on documented repairs. It appraises at $300,000 and rents for $2,400 a month. Taxes $300 a month, insurance $150, 700+ credit. The 8.00% rate is a round number for the arithmetic, not a quote.
| Cash-out refinance | Month four | Month seven |
|---|---|---|
| Limit from cost plus improvements | $200,000 | No longer applies |
| 75% of appraised value | $225,000 | $225,000 |
| Loan amount (the lower limit) | $200,000 | $225,000 |
| Principal and interest at 8.00% | $1,468 | $1,651 |
| Full payment (PITIA) | $1,918 | $2,101 |
| DSCR at $2,400 rent | 1.25 | 1.14 |
| Cash back, bought with cash | $200,000 | $225,000 |
| Cash back after paying off a $160,000 hard-money loan | $40,000 | $65,000 |
Waiting three months is worth $25,000 here, because the repairs added far more value than they cost. When a property appraises at about what you put into it, the six-month mark changes little, and refinancing now stops the hard-money interest sooner. Either way the DSCR has to work at the new payment: the larger loan still clears 1.14.
BRRRR: refinancing out of a hard-money loan
The refinance is the last R in buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. Plan it before you buy the property, not when the note is about to mature.
- Start at month four or five of a 12-month note. A typical file closes about 30 days from the appraisal order.
- Keep the invoices. Before six months, purchase price plus documented improvements is the loan limit.
- Lease it, or have it rent-ready. Vacant is fine if it is ready to rent; the appraisal includes a rent schedule.
- Do not list it for sale. A listing in the last 30 days makes it ineligible.
- Short-term rental exit: a nightly rental refinances on its booking income at DSCR 1.00+. See the short-term rental loan page.
For the buy-and-rehab leg, see fix and flip loans and bridge loans.
What to send for a cash-out quote
Nine items get you real numbers. Nothing is pulled and nothing is charged.
- Property address
- Purchase date and purchase price
- Documented rehab spent, if owned under six months
- Estimated value
- Current loan balance, if any
- Monthly rent or the current lease
- Annual property taxes and insurance
- HOA dues, if any
- Your middle credit score range
What it costs
The lender charges an underwriting fee of about $1,995 and origination of 0% to 3% — zero if you take the rate as priced, or 0.5 to 3 points to buy it down. Prepayment options run from five years to none (no penalty adds about 1.00% to the rate). Current pricing is on the rates page.
We charge you nothing. No application fee, no processing fee, no upfront fee of any kind. We are paid by the lender when the loan closes.
DSCR cash-out refinance questions
How much cash can I take out with a DSCR loan?
Up to 75% of the appraised value with 680+ credit, on loans from $200,000 and property values to $1 million, less the payoff of any existing loan and closing costs. Larger loans, higher values and lower scores step down to 60%–70%. Below a DSCR of 1.00 the limit is 65% with 720+ credit.
How soon after buying can I do a cash-out refinance?
You can refinance at any time, but under six months of ownership the loan is limited to the purchase price plus documented improvements. From six months (twelve with some lending partners) it is sized on the appraised value.
Can I cash out a rental I bought with cash?
Yes. In the example above, a $180,000 cash purchase with $20,000 of documented repairs and a $300,000 appraisal refinances for $200,000 at month four and $225,000 at month seven.
Do I need tax returns for a DSCR cash-out refinance?
No. The loan is qualified on the property’s rent against its new payment, not on your personal income. Expect a credit check, an appraisal with a rent schedule, bank statements for reserves, and entity documents if the property is held in an LLC.
What DSCR do I need for a cash-out refinance?
1.00 or higher for the standard limits. On a long-term rental, a DSCR between 0.80 and 0.99 qualifies at 65% with 720+ credit, with a $200,000 minimum loan and cash-out capped at $500,000, or $1,000,000 under 65% LTV. Short-term rentals need 1.00.
Does a cash-out refinance cost more than rate-and-term?
Yes. Cash-out adds roughly 0.25% to 0.375% to the rate, and the leverage limit is 75% instead of 80%. If you only need to replace an existing loan, a rate-and-term refinance is usually the cheaper loan.
Can I do a cash-out refinance on a short-term rental?
Yes, qualified on the short-term rental income: up to 75% with 700+ credit and 70% at 680–699, minimum DSCR 1.00, with a 0.25% short-term rental add-on and no interest-only.
Easy Lending USA is not a lender, a bank, or a mortgage broker. We introduce real estate investors to independent private lenders, who make every credit decision. Business-purpose loans only, to real estate investors, secured by non-owner-occupied property. Every figure on this page is indicative, subject to underwriting, and not a commitment to lend. No upfront fees of any kind.