DSCR Loans for Commercial Property

A commercial DSCR loan sizes a loan on a commercial property's net operating income instead of your personal income. The term covers two different things: rental DSCR loans on small residential buildings, which some lenders stretch to 10 units and mixed use, and true commercial loans on apartments, retail, offices and industrial space, which use a stricter formula and higher minimums. This page sorts the two and shows what lenders publish for each.

Commercial DSCR lenders and their published programs

Express Capital Financing figures are from the program data on its loan programs page; the others from each lender's DSCR page. Read November 2, 2026. Starting rates go to the strongest files. Express Capital's separate Full Doc page gives an older range, rates that typically run from 5.5% to 8% as of March 2025 (Full Doc page); the 7.5%+ figure is from its current program data, and the examples here use it.

Can you use a DSCR loan for commercial property?

A standard rental DSCR loan, no. Express Capital Financing's DSCR page says commercial properties such as offices and retail usually do not qualify and sends those borrowers to its Lite Doc Commercial program (Express Capital). Where the line falls depends on the lender:

• Mixed use and 5 to 10 units can stay in a rental DSCR program: Easy Street Capital lends on up to 10 units including mixed use, and Upright on multifamily up to 10 units at a 1.25x minimum.
• Apartments, retail, offices, self-storage and industrial go to commercial programs: Express Capital lists a rent coverage ratio of 1.2x on its Lite Doc program and 1.25x on Full Doc.
• Value-add or vacant buildings go to bridge loans first: Express Capital's multifamily and mixed-use bridge (1.1x, 12 to 36 months) or Lima One's multifamily bridge, then refinance once the rent roll supports a long-term loan.

How commercial DSCR is calculated

Commercial lenders divide net operating income by annual debt service. NOI is gross rent minus vacancy and operating costs (taxes, insurance, repairs, management and utilities the owner pays), before the mortgage. Rental DSCR lenders instead divide gross monthly rent by the monthly payment including taxes and insurance, so the same building produces two different ratios.

Example inputs: a $900,000 mixed-use building with $108,000 a year of gross rent and $37,800 of vacancy and operating costs has NOI of $70,200. Applying the standard commercial formula with Express Capital's listed rent coverage ratios as the minimums (an assumption; it does not define the ratio): at the Lite Doc 1.2x, annual debt service can be up to $58,500; at the Full Doc 1.25x, up to $56,160.

Commercial DSCR loan sizing: the two limits

At the 8% Lite Doc starting rate on a 30-year amortization, $70,200 of NOI at 1.2x supports about $664,382, below the $720,000 that 80% of value would allow. At the Full Doc 7.5% start on a 25-year amortization, 1.25x supports about $633,295 against a $675,000 leverage limit. On this building the coverage ratio, not the loan-to-value, sets the loan, which is common when the purchase price is high relative to income. Down payment is then $235,618 (Lite Doc) or $266,705 (Full Doc), before closing costs and 2%+ points.

Express Capital lists Lite Doc terms of 5, 7, 10, 15 or 30 years and Full Doc terms of 3 to 25 years; it does not publish amortization schedules, so the 30-year and 25-year amortizations here are assumptions for the example.

How much NOI a commercial DSCR loan needs

Turned around, the coverage rule tells you the income a building must produce for the loan you want. At Express Capital's published starting rates and minimum coverage (amortization assumed as above):

Higher rates raise every number in the table, and a lender will use the rate it actually quotes you, so treat these as floors. Both programs allow purchase, refinance and unrestricted cash-out, and neither finances renovation (Express Capital); a building that needs work goes to a bridge or commercial hard money loan first.

Which program fits which property

The program follows the building. From each lender's own program list:

Same building, two ratios

The two formulas give very different numbers on the same property. Split the example's $37,800 of costs into $10,800 of taxes, $4,500 of insurance and $22,500 of vacancy, repairs and management (example inputs). On the Lite Doc loan of $664,382 at 8% over 30 years:

• Rental formula (gross rent / PITIA): $9,000 a month against a $6,150.00 payment is 1.46.
• Commercial formula (NOI / debt service): $70,200 against $58,500 a year is 1.20.

The rental formula ignores vacancy, repairs and management, so it flatters a larger building. Before comparing quotes, ask each lender which formula it uses and what it deducts.

How rate and amortization move the loan

Starting rates go to the strongest files. If the quote comes in higher, or the lender amortizes over 25 years instead of 30, the same $70,200 of NOI supports less loan at 1.2x, and the down payment grows to make up the difference:

Going from 8% to 10% on a 30-year amortization takes $108,872 off the loan. At every rate in the table the coverage limit, not the 80% leverage cap of $720,000, sets the loan on this building.

Bridge first, then a commercial DSCR loan

A building that is half empty or needs work cannot show the NOI a coverage test wants. The usual path is a short bridge loan, then a refinance once the rent roll is stable:

1. Buy on a bridge loan. Express Capital's multifamily and mixed-use bridge runs 12 to 36 months at up to 75% of value from 10.5%+, with a 1.1x coverage minimum; Lima One's multifamily bridge offers 24 to 36 months interest only, on loans from $1M.
2. Lease up and fix. Build a rent roll and a year of operating figures.
3. Refinance into a long-term loan sized on the new NOI. Express Capital's Lite Doc and Full Doc allow refinance and unrestricted cash-out.

On the example building, a bridge at 75% of $900,000 is $675,000. To refinance that balance on Lite Doc terms (1.2x, 8%, 30 years assumed), the building needs NOI of about $71,322 a year, $1,122 more than the $70,200 in the example. Run that number before you buy: it is the income the plan has to reach.

Rent coverage ratio, DSCR and NOI: the names

Lenders do not all use the same words. Express Capital Financing labels its commercial minimums "Rent Coverage Ratio" in its program data and does not publish a formula for it, so ask whether it is calculated on gross rent or on NOI. Upright and Easy Street Capital use "DSCR" on residential rentals and calculate it on gross rent against the payment. In commercial lending the term usually means NOI over annual debt service, the method used in the example above. The name on the term sheet matters less than the inputs, so get the lender to show its calculation on your rent roll.

Recourse

Most investor loans come with a personal guarantee. Lima One lists non-recourse options on its multifamily loans (Lima One), which limit the lender to the property if the loan defaults. Ask for the list of carve-outs, the events that bring a personal guarantee back, and compare the rate and leverage against a recourse quote.

Documents for a commercial DSCR loan

1. Rent roll listing each unit or tenant, the rent and the lease end date.
2. Operating statements showing income and expenses, from which the lender builds its NOI.
3. Leases for commercial tenants.
4. For Express Capital's Full Doc program, personal and business financial statements and usually 2 to 3 years of tax returns (its Full Doc page).
5. Purchase contract or payoff for a refinance.
6. Entity documents for the borrowing company.
7. Appraisal, ordered by the lender, which sets the value side of the leverage limit.

Commercial DSCR loan requirements

• Coverage: Express Capital lists rent coverage ratios of 1.1x (bridge) to 1.25x (Full Doc); Upright 1.25x on 5 to 10 units.
• Credit: 650 minimum on both Express Capital commercial programs.
• Leverage: up to 80% (Lite Doc) or 75% (Full Doc and bridge).
• Loan size: from $100,000 at Express Capital, up to $10,000,000 (Lite Doc) or $75,000,000 (Full Doc); Lima One multifamily from $1M.
• Documents: rental DSCR loans skip personal income (Upright asks no tax returns or employment verification); NOI-based loans need the property's rent roll and operating figures to calculate NOI.

Commercial DSCR loan or commercial hard money loan?

A DSCR loan is for a building that already earns its keep. If the property is vacant, needs work, or the deal must close in days, a short-term commercial hard money loan comes first; compare those lenders on commercial hard money lenders. For a residential rental of 1 to 4 units, the standard programs on DSCR loans compared usually price better, and DSCR loan requirements lists what each lender asks.

Questions to ask a commercial DSCR lender

1. Which formula? Gross rent to PITIA, or NOI to debt service.
2. What goes into NOI? Ask which vacancy and expense figures the lender applies to your rent roll.
3. Amortization and term? A 25-year amortization supports less loan than 30 years at the same rate.
4. Prepayment? Express Capital lists step-down options such as 5.4.3.2.1 on its Lite Doc program.
5. Recourse? Lima One lists non-recourse options on its multifamily page.

Not financial advice. Terms are each lender's own, read November 2, 2026.

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