There's no single fixed down payment percentage across all DSCR loans — required down payment (for a purchase) or existing equity (for a refinance) depends on the lender, the property, and the overall strength of the scenario.
Factors that typically influence it
A few factors commonly affect how much down payment or equity a lender may require:
- The property's DSCR — a stronger ratio may open up more flexible structures
- Property type (single-family vs. multifamily, for example)
- Your credit profile
- Loan purpose — purchase, rate/term refinance, or cash-out
- Whether the property is a long-term or short-term rental
Purchase vs. cash-out
For a purchase, this is usually framed as a down payment percentage or dollar amount. For a cash-out refinance, it's typically framed as a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) against the property's current value, which effectively determines how much equity you retain versus access as cash.
Get a scenario-specific estimate
Because this varies so much by lender and scenario, the most useful next step is usually sharing your specific property and goals through our DSCR quote flow, where we ask about planned down payment or current loan balance directly.
Ready to see how this applies to your property?