A straight answer
Can I get a DSCR loan for a short-term rental that has no rental history yet?
The direct answer
Yes. I offer DSCR loans that qualify a short-term rental with no operating history on a short-term rental income projection, under the program's rules on where the projection comes from, the discount it applies and the permit check. I'm Zach von der Linden (NMLS 1652805), a mortgage broker with West Capital Lending, based in San Clemente.
I arrange loans with lenders and put the financing together; West Capital Lending offers investment property loans qualified on what the property rents for, and the short-term version I place turns on one question: what number goes on top of the ratio when there are no bookings yet. Program terms depend on the property and your file. Text or call me with the address, whether you are buying or refinancing, the rent evidence you have, and whether the rental use is permitted there, and I will tell you what the program can use. I work with investors in California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona.
Zach von der Linden, mortgage broker and Branch Manager, West Capital Lending · NMLS 1652805
Wholesale pricing · California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona
5.0 across 66 reviews on Experience.com (read on 2026-09-24) · Text reaches Zach directly · Last updated 2026-10-17
Short-term rental with no bookings yet? Text me the address, whether you are buying or refinancing, what rent evidence you have, and whether the rental use is permitted there.
No credit pull happens from a text or a call. Texts and calls go to Zach's cell.
What happens after you text me?
Texts go straight to my cell, and I answer them myself when I'm free. I'll ask for the few details that actually matter, tell you whether the structure looks worth pursuing, and explain the next step. If I don't think the loan fits, I'll tell you that too.
A text or phone conversation does not pull your credit.
What rent evidence can a lender use when there is no history?
The clearest written rule is Fannie Mae's, which now has a short-term rental topic of its own. It defines a short-term rental as "a furnished, residential property rented for brief periods, typically less than 30 consecutive days, rather than with a standard long-term lease agreement," limits the topic to "One-unit investment properties only," and requires that "The property must be legally permitted to operate as a short-term rental, including compliance with all applicable local registration and licensing requirements." For a purchase, the rent is documented either by a comparable rent schedule "completed based on standard long-term rentals, or" by "validated rental data for other short-term rentals from Multiple Listing Service (MLS), or property management companies," which "must include: three comparable short-term rental properties," their "daily, weekly, and/or monthly rental rates" and the "number of days rented in the last calendar year" (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.8-03). For a refinance, it wants your most recent federal return with Schedule E, whether or not the property is on it.
That is a rule for loans sold to Fannie Mae, and a DSCR loan is not one of them. The DSCR program I offer writes its own rent-evidence rule and accepts a short-term rental income projection, with its own requirements for where the projection comes from and what supports it; an appraiser's rent opinion, a lease or actual bookings are read under the same rule. I do not name the program or a projection vendor here, and whether the projection for your property is accepted is confirmed before you rely on a revenue estimate.
Does the ratio change for a short-term rental?
The test is the same: the property's rent against its full monthly payment, which a bank regulator defines as cash flow divided by debt service. What changes is the rent number. Fannie Mae's purchase rule for a short-term rental reduces the gross rental amount by a stated share for vacancy losses and maintenance expenses before subtracting the payment, and on a purchase it lets a positive result offset the payment only, never add to income. A program that accepts a projection sets its own discount on nightly revenue, because a furnished house with turnover has costs a long-term lease does not, and it may cap the rent at the long-term market figure; I state neither the discount nor any cap here. The investment property page explains the test in words; no ratio, discount or figure is printed on this site.
Taxes, insurance and any association dues sit inside the payment the rent has to cover, and insurance on a short-term rental can be the heavier line. Bring a quote early, because a property that clears the test on rent alone can fail it once the real payment is built.
Is the rental use allowed at that address?
Check before you write the offer, because a lender will. Fannie Mae's topic makes legal permission a condition of counting the income, and cities regulate short-term rentals differently: registration certificates, neighborhood caps, limits on contracts per year, and outright bans in some places. The Palm Springs page walks through one region's ordinances and makes the point that matters everywhere: the seller's permit does not come with the house, and a certificate is issued to the new owner, if at all, after closing. An association's rules can restrict the use too, so read the governing documents.
Does it matter that I have never owned a rental?
Under Fannie Mae's rule it does: positive rental income counts toward qualifying only when the borrower "has at least 12 months of property management experience," shown on a tax return with a full year of fair rental days or a lease dated at least twelve months before the application; with less, the rent may offset the property's payment only (B3-3.8-01). A DSCR program qualifies the property rather than you, and whether the program I offer takes a first-time investor, or asks for experience or more reserves, is a program rule, confirmed before you rely on it; a first-time investor is not the same category as a first-time homebuyer.
What has to be true, and what I check first
- The rental use is permitted at the address, and you can obtain the registration or permit in your own name.
- The rent evidence is real: an appraiser's rent opinion, a lease, documented bookings, or a short-term rental income projection from a source the program accepts.
- The full payment, with taxes, insurance and dues, is built before the ratio is run.
- The down payment and the reserves the program calls for are documented, with something left after closing and the furnishing budget.
- The property type fits: one unit is the common case for a short-term rental program, and units, condos and resort projects are reviewed under their own rules.
- Credit is still reviewed even though personal income is not the test.
What should I have ready?
- The address or listing, the price, and whether you are buying or refinancing.
- Any bookings history, or the projection and where it came from.
- Rents for comparable long-term and short-term rentals nearby, if you have them.
- The city's short-term rental rules for that address, and the association documents if there is one.
- Property taxes and an insurance quote for short-term rental use.
- The down payment, what would be left after closing and furnishing, and how many rentals you already own.
Send documents through the secure process I give you when we talk, not by ordinary text. A conversation does not pull your credit. An investment purchase is not issued through the online pre-approval; the request comes to me, and I reply with the next step.
Questions people ask next
Can I use a short-term rental projection to qualify?
Yes. I offer DSCR loans that use a short-term rental income projection, discounted under the program's rules and possibly capped at the long-term market rent. The projection has to come from a source the program accepts, which is confirmed before you rely on an estimate, and no projection source is named here.
Do I need to have owned a rental before?
Not necessarily. A DSCR program qualifies the property rather than you, and whether the program I offer takes a first-time investor, or asks for experience or more reserves, depends on the program guidelines. Fannie Mae's own rule counts positive rental income toward qualifying only after twelve months of property management experience; a DSCR loan follows its program's rule instead.
Can I refinance a short-term rental I already run without tax returns?
Yes, on a DSCR loan qualified on the property's income rather than your personal income documents, under the program's rule on what booking evidence it reads. Under Fannie Mae's rule a short-term rental refinance uses your most recent return with Schedule E, so that route needs the history on paper. Bring the booking statements either way.
Does the property have to be legally permitted as a short-term rental?
Under Fannie Mae's rule, yes, including local registration and licensing, and a DSCR lender asks the same question. Permits usually do not transfer with the sale, some cities cap or ban them, and an association can restrict the use. Confirm with the city before the offer.
Will the lender just use the long-term rent instead?
It can, as a floor or a cap. Fannie Mae allows a rent schedule based on standard long-term rentals as one of the two purchase methods, and the DSCR program I offer may cap short-term rent at the long-term figure. If the deal only works on nightly revenue, say so early, because that is the number most likely to be discounted.
Will asking about this affect my credit score?
No. A text or a call does not pull your credit. An application is a separate step, and I tell you before it happens.
What clients say
Zach was great. Easy process and he took care of the little things that needed to be done to close the loan and offered up sound advice throughout the process.
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Which page is this?
Investment property: qualifies on the property’s rental income. Programs like this exist. The property’s rent against its full monthly housing cost is the qualifying test, and this page explains it in plain words.
Can I buy a rental where the rent qualifies instead of my tax returns?
That page has the tradeoffs and the same next step: a text to Zach.
Sources and checked dates
Sources: Confirmed by Zach, October 17, 2026 (via the Chief of Staff) (checked 2026-10-17) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.8-03, Rental Income from the Subject Property: Short-Term Rental (checked 2026-10-17) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.8-02, Rental Income from the Subject Property (checked 2026-10-17) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.8-01, General Rental Income Information (checked 2026-10-17) · OCC, Comptroller’s Handbook, Commercial Real Estate Lending (March 2022 edition) (checked 2026-09-27) · Supplied by Zach, September 10, 2026 (checked 2026-09-10) · Confirmed by Zach, Sept 2026 (checked 2026-09-27).
Show each claim on this page, what it depends on, and the date it was checked (7)
| What we say, and what it depends on | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Zach offers DSCR loans that use a short-term rental income projection to qualify a property with no operating history; West Capital Lending offers them, and he arranges them. | Confirmed by Zach, October 17, 2026 (via the Chief of Staff) | 2026-10-17 |
| Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.8-03, Rental Income from the Subject Property: Short-Term Rental (09/02/2026): "A short-term rental is a furnished, residential property rented for brief periods, typically less than 30 consecutive days, rather than with a standard long-term lease agreement." "The following properties are eligible: One-unit investment properties only. The property must be legally permitted to operate as a short-term rental, including compliance with all applicable local registration and licensing requirements. Short-term rental income cannot be derived from an ADU." Purchase: "The Single-Family Comparable Rent Schedule (Form 1007) must be completed based on standard long-term rentals, or The lender must obtain validated rental data for other short-term rentals from Multiple Listing Service (MLS), or property management companies." "Validated rental data must include: three comparable short-term rental properties," from the same market area when possible, "daily, weekly, and/or monthly rental rates for these comparables; number of days rented in the last calendar year;" The purchase calculation reduces the monthly gross rental amount by a stated share for vacancy losses and maintenance expenses, then subtracts the property's full payment, and "If ANRI is positive, the lender may use the rental income to offset the PITIA only. If ANRI is negative, the lender must include the amount in the DTI ratio." Refinance: "The most recent individual federal income tax return (IRS Form 1040), which include Schedules 1 and E, regardless of whether the subject property is listed on the tax return." | Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.8-03, Rental Income from the Subject Property: Short-Term Rental | 2026-10-17 |
| Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.8-02, Rental Income from the Subject Property (09/02/2026): for a purchase, "The lender must obtain the following: a Single-Family Comparable Rent Schedule (Form 1007) or Small Residential Income Property Appraisal Report (Form 1025), as applicable, and a copy of the fully executed lease agreement(s) when a lease is being transferred to the borrower." "The lender must document the borrower's current housing payment to use any rental income from the subject property in qualifying." "If the current market rents do not reasonably support the gross rents reported on the lease agreement, the lender must" determine whether more documentation is needed, provide a written analysis, "or use the lesser amount." Net rental income is the gross rent reduced by a stated share for vacancy and expenses, less the property's full payment. "When the borrower has less than 12 months of rental property management experience if ANRI is positive, the lender may use the rental income to offset the PITIA only." Eligible: "two-to four-unit principal residences, or one-to four-unit investment property, or one-unit Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) allowed with a one-unit primary residence only." | Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.8-02, Rental Income from the Subject Property | 2026-10-17 |
| Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.8-01, General Rental Income Information (09/02/2026; Announcement SEL-2026-08 moved rental income into a new Section B3-3.8): "Rental Income is an acceptable source of stable income if it can be established that the income is likely to continue." "The amount of rental income used to qualify may be restricted depending on whether the borrower currently has a housing payment and/or a history of property management experience." "Lenders may only use positive rental income for qualifying income if the borrower(s) has at least 12 months of property management experience." "The lender may only use qualifying rental income to offset the PITIA when the borrower(s) has no prior property management experience, or less than 12 months of experience." Experience is shown by the most recent signed federal return with Schedules 1 and E "reflecting rental income received for any property and supporting 365 Fair Rental Days;" or "a fully executed lease agreement dated at least 12 months prior to the loan application date, provided the related property has not yet been reported on individual or business federal tax return(s)." "Example: If a short-term rental has been in service for more than one year but Schedule E reflects fewer than 365 Fair Rental Days in each tax year, or if the property was out of service during the prior year, Schedule E must support this with a reduced number of Fair Rental Days and related repair costs." A lease may be used for a purchase "where there is an existing lease agreement(s) on the property that will be transferred to the borrower;" and newly executed leases on properties not on the return "must contain a minimum term of at least six months, with the initial rental payment due on or before the first payment due date of the subject mortgage." | Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.8-01, General Rental Income Information | 2026-10-17 |
| The OCC’s Comptroller’s Handbook on commercial real estate lending (March 2022 edition) defines the debt-service coverage ratio as “Cash flow or NOI divided by the debt service,” and says the ratio, “calculated by dividing the NOI by the annual debt service requirements, measures the borrower’s ability to service its debt.” The property’s income is compared with the payments on its debt. | OCC, Comptroller’s Handbook, Commercial Real Estate Lending (March 2022 edition) | 2026-09-27 |
| Zach reports that West Capital Lending offers investment property loans with a down payment that do not require personal income documentation, and that qualification is based on what the property rents for. | Supplied by Zach, September 10, 2026 | 2026-09-10 |
| Zach’s own words on rent-qualified purchase loans: “It really can be as simple as having the down payment. We can arrange a loan based on what the house can rent for. Just bring the down payment and enough reserves, and we get the house appraised based on what it can rent for. It really is that simple.” Always shown with the line “Every loan is subject to full approval.” | Confirmed by Zach, Sept 2026 | 2026-09-27 |
Written for and accountable to: Zach von der Linden, Mortgage broker and Branch Manager, West Capital Lending.
Last updated 2026-10-17.
Verify him: NMLS Consumer Access, ID 1652805 · 66 reviews on Experience.com.
Sources for product claims are listed on this page, with the date each was checked.