Does the rent cover the payment? Run the coverage ratio on your deal.
A DSCR loan qualifies the property, not you — it asks whether the rent covers the full mortgage payment. Enter the purchase price, financing, and projected rent below, and this calculator returns your debt service coverage ratio, the monthly PITIA behind it, and the tier your deal lands in. No sign-up, no funnel.
If you’re buying with DSCR, you already know the formula — rent over PITIA — and you’ve likely run it in your head on plenty of deals. I built this for speed, not explanation: enter the numbers, confirm the ratio and the tier in a few seconds, and screen a deal or pressure-test a lender’s figure without opening a spreadsheet. A fast second opinion, not a lecture.
— Matt Mergo · NMLS #563819Debt service coverage ratio
The math behind the number.
DSCR stands for debt service coverage ratio. It compares the property’s gross monthly rent to its full monthly housing payment:
PITIA is principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and association dues. This calculator builds the principal and interest from your price, down payment, rate, and term, then adds your taxes, insurance, and HOA to get the full PITIA the lender uses. A ratio above 1.0 means the rent more than covers the payment; below 1.0 means it doesn’t.
What the tiers mean
1.25 or higher is the prime tier — the rent clears the payment by at least 25%, which earns the best pricing and the lowest down payment. 1.00 to 1.24 still qualifies, but the thinner margin usually means slightly higher pricing or more money down. Below 1.00 means the property loses money on paper before vacancy and maintenance; some lenders still write these at higher rates and 25–30%+ down, but it’s usually a signal to renegotiate the price.
This is an estimate to help you screen deals quickly, not a quote. Real DSCR pricing depends on credit, the exact program, reserves, and how the appraiser’s rent schedule comes in. For the full picture of how these loans work, see DSCR investor loans — and if you’re still sorting out whether a non-QM product is even the right path, start with what a non-QM loan actually is.
Send me the property and projected rent. I’ll run both DSCR and conventional.
Tell me the property type, purchase price, projected rent, down payment, and your credit range, and I’ll come back with real numbers on both DSCR and conventional and tell you which one wins for your deal. No teaser numbers.