DSCR Loans in Pennsylvania (PA)

Pennsylvania is a cash-flow state for DSCR lending. Its median home value, $254,500 (2020-2024), is low against its $1,329 2025 median rent, which is what a lender's ratio rewards. Twelve of the 13 DSCR lenders compared on this site say they lend here, Griffin Funding and Groundfloor among them with DSCR loans in all 50 states (RCN Capital says only that geographical restrictions may apply), and two Pennsylvania rules matter more than usual: a transfer tax that is shared with local governments, and a security-deposit limit that steps down after a tenant's first year.

DSCR lenders in Pennsylvania

Coverage from each lender's own state page or published state list; rates and minimums from its DSCR page, read November 2, 2026. Visio Lending's map says an entity is required in PA and no prepayment penalty is required there (Visio).

Two of these lenders have Pennsylvania-specific pages that say more than a state list does: Easy Street Capital names Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as part of statewide lending (Easy Street), and Upright marks DSCR rentals available statewide (Upright). For short-term purchase and rehab loans in the state, see Pennsylvania hard money lenders.

What a Pennsylvania rent can carry

The state's median gross rent was $1,329 a month in 2025, up 6.2% from $1,252 in 2024 (Census ACS 2025, B25064). Divide it by each lender's minimum ratio to see the largest monthly payment it will accept:

At New Silver's 0.75 minimum and its 6.875% starting rate, and setting aside the $275.92 a month that the median Pennsylvania tax bill comes to ($3,311 a year, Census B25103), that rent supports a 30-year loan of about $227,700, before insurance. A lender at 1.00 would want the full payment covered by the rent.

The same rent at three different floors, with the median tax bill taken out first:

Small rentals and rent by bedroom

An 80% loan on the $254,500 median value is $203,600. At 6.875% the principal and interest are $1,337.51 a month; add the median tax bill and the payment is $1,613.42 before insurance. Here is how the Census median rent for each unit size covers it:

Rents by bedroom are 2020-2024 averages (Census B25031), lower than the 2025 statewide figure. At the median price none of them reaches 1.00, so a lender with a 1.00 floor needs a cheaper house, more down or more rent; every size except 1 bedroom clears New Silver's 0.75 minimum before insurance. Pennsylvania's housing is old (median year built 1965), so budget for an appraisal condition review.

Pennsylvania cities: rent against value

All three earn more rent per dollar of value than the state as a whole, and Allentown and Pittsburgh more than Philadelphia. Philadelphia has its own page, hard money lenders in Philadelphia, which covers the city's 4.578% combined transfer tax and Sheriff sales. Pittsburgh and Allentown have lower values still, so check each lender's minimum loan size: New Silver starts at $150,000 and Lima One at $85k, while Express Capital Financing goes down to $50,000.

Two to four units: where Pennsylvania DSCR loans fit best

Pennsylvania has 246,866 housing units in two-unit buildings and 234,552 in three- and four-unit buildings, 8.3% of its 5,806,452 units (Census B25024). Those buildings are where a DSCR loan shines, because the lender counts every unit's rent against one payment. Lima One lends on 1 to 9 units, Easy Street Capital and Upright on up to 10, and New Silver on 1 to 8; Upright asks 1.25x once you reach 5 units.

Short-term rentals in Pennsylvania

From the Poconos to college towns, some Pennsylvania rentals earn by the night. Easy Street Capital says no short-term rental history is required. Upright refinances short-term rentals with documented income at 1.15x but does not finance their purchase. Check local short-term rental rules before you count on nightly income; see DSCR loans for short-term rentals.

Worked example: the three cities at their own medians

Buy a rental at each city's Census median value with 20% down at New Silver's 6.875% starting rate, tax it at the state's median bill as a share of value (1.30%), and rent it at the city's median rent. The ratio, before insurance, and how many of the 9 published minimums among the Pennsylvania lenders above it clears (Easy Street Capital publishes no minimum at all):

Allentown clears 8 of them at 1.00, before insurance and counting Ternus at its 680+ credit tier (it asks 1.15x at 660 to 679), so a modest insurance bill takes it below the 1.00 floors; Philadelphia at 0.90 clears 5. Actual tax bills vary by municipality and school district, so rerun the ratio with the bill on the listing before you make an offer.

Minimum loan sizes on cheaper Pennsylvania houses

Low prices are Pennsylvania's advantage, until a house is too cheap for the lender's minimum loan. Dividing each published minimum by the lender's top purchase leverage gives the lowest price that still produces a big enough loan:

Pittsburgh's $205,800 median value clears 8 of these 8 floors. Lower down the market the list thins: below $187,500, New Silver drops out; below $125,000, Easy Street Capital, Griffin Funding and Upright drop out; below $115,000, Ternus drops out; below $106,250, Lima One Capital drops out; below $93,750, CoreVest drops out, leaving Express Capital Financing. Ternus also needs a $115,000 property value and Easy Street Capital $100,000. A bigger down payment does not help here, because the problem is a loan that is too small.

What a year of rent growth did

The state median rent rose from $1,252 in 2024 to $1,329 in 2025. At a 0.75 minimum, 6.875% and the median tax bill, the 2024 rent supported a loan of about $212,100; the 2025 rent supports about $227,700, $15,600 more. Lenders size the loan on the rent you can show today, so a lease renewal at a higher rent before you refinance can raise the loan.

Interest-only on a median Pennsylvania house

On the $203,600 loan at 6.875%, interest-only cuts the principal and interest from $1,337.51 to $1,166.46 a month. With the median tax bill, the payment drops from $1,613.42 to $1,442.38, and the $1,329 median rent covers it 0.92 times instead of 0.82. That moves the median house past Upright's 0.90x floor before insurance, though Upright lends at reduced leverage below 1.00x. Upright and Easy Street Capital both offer 30-year loans with 10 years interest only.

Who rents in Pennsylvania

1,666,725 of Pennsylvania's 5,405,581 occupied homes were rented in 2025, 30.8% (Census B25003). State and city medians hide wide street-by-street differences, so pull rent comparables for the same bedroom count before you rely on one.

Pennsylvania next to the other DSCR states

Among the ten states with a DSCR page on this site, Pennsylvania's $1,329 median rent is the third-lowest, its 6.2% rise from 2024 to 2025 is the second-fastest, and its 30.8% renter share is the second-lowest. Low values do more of the work here than high rents: the state's ratio comes from what houses cost.

Cash to close on a median-priced Pennsylvania rental

On the $254,500 median value with an 80% loan at 6.875%:

Reserve rules vary: Upright typically wants a few months of PITIA, and Express Capital Financing's FAQ puts the market range at 3 to 12 months. County Recorders of Deeds often collect a local realty transfer tax on top of the state 1%, so get the combined rate from the title company early.

Pennsylvania realty transfer tax on a rental purchase

The Commonwealth charges 1 percent of the value of the real estate, and county Recorders of Deeds often collect an additional local realty transfer tax with it; grantor and grantee are jointly and severally liable (Pennsylvania Department of Revenue). On the $254,500 median value (2020-2024) the state 1% alone is $2,545. Add the local share for your municipality and school district, and decide in the contract who pays it, before you size the down payment.

Pennsylvania landlord rules that affect cash flow

• Security deposits: no more than two months' rent in a lease's first year and no more than one month's rent from the second year on (Landlord and Tenant Act, s. 511.1). On the median rent that is $2,658, then $1,329.
• Return of the deposit: within thirty days of the lease ending, with a written list of damages (s. 512).
• Notice to quit: fifteen days for leases of one year or less, thirty days for longer leases, and ten days for unpaid rent (s. 501).

A short notice period helps a lender's view of the property, but plan your reserves for turnover anyway: Upright, for one, typically wants a few months of PITIA in the bank.

Before you apply in Pennsylvania

1. Pick a structure. Visio Lending requires an entity in Pennsylvania; Ternus lends to LLCs with an individual guarantor.
2. Price the transfer tax at the state 1% plus the local rate.
3. Test the rent at the lender's minimum with the DSCR calculator.
4. Ask about prepayment. Visio Lending's map says none is required in PA; Easy Street Capital typically uses 5/4/3/2/1.
5. Check the minimum loan against the price. On a house under about $187,500, New Silver's $150,000 minimum rules it out; the table above shows where each lender stops.

Compare all lenders on DSCR lenders, or the next state over on DSCR loans in Ohio and DSCR loans in Maryland.