You have doors that perform and a debt-to-income ratio that keeps getting in the way. Every conventional lender counts all of your mortgages against you and discounts the rent that pays them. At some point the math stops working and you get told you already have too many, which is a strange thing to hear about a portfolio that is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.
Debt service coverage ratio. It is the rent divided by the payment. If a property rents for $2,400 and the full payment including taxes, insurance and any HOA is $2,000, the DSCR is 1.20. Most programs want 1.00 or better, some go below with a rate adjustment. That number is the qualification. Your personal income does not enter the conversation.
DSCR prices above agency and usually wants 20 to 25% down. In exchange you get speed, no income documentation, and a ceiling that does not exist. For a first or second rental, agency is often still cheaper and I will point you there. Around the third or fourth door, DSCR usually becomes the obvious answer.
On most DSCR programs, no.
Yes, and most investors do. It is one of the main reasons to use DSCR over agency.
On some programs, yes, usually supported by a market rent analysis or a documented operating history. It varies by lender more than almost anything else in this space, which is exactly where having a broker helps.
Typically 20 to 25%, with pricing improving as you put more down and as the DSCR goes up.
If the property covers its own note, that can be the whole conversation. For a first or second rental agency may still be cheaper, and I will point you there when it is.