Tag Archive for: DSCR calculation

What Does Debt Service Coverage Ratio Mean?

Today we are going to discuss what debt service coverage ratio means and how a DSCR loan can help you achieve your investment goals. Thankfully there are a multitude of products that are available for investors to not only purchase new properties, but to refinance as well. Whether or not you have a job, just changed jobs, or write everything off on your taxes, there are products out there for you. How can a DSCR loan help you? Let’s take a closer look!

What does debt service coverage ratio mean?

The debt service coverage ratio is where your property breaks even. Just to clarify, that is when the income from the property and the expenses break even. While every property has a different break even point, this is the value that lenders will be looking at to determine whether or not the property qualifies for a DSCR loan. The expenses that lenders take into consideration are the mortgage payment (including interest), taxes, insurance, flood, and HOA. For example, if your rent is $1,000, then your expenses need to be $1,000 or less in order to qualify for a DSCR loan. The best scenario would be if your rents were $1,500 and the expenses were $1,000. This would create a $500 cash flow for the property.

A DSCR is the best loan option!

One of the most versatile loan options available for investors is a DSCR loan. How do you qualify? As long as your rental property will cover the debt, you will be able to qualify for a DSCR loan. Unlike traditional loans, a DSCR loan will not take into consideration when you started your job or how long you’ve been self-employed. Instead, the lender’s primary focus is whether or not the income from the property qualifies for the loan.

Contact us today!

Here at The Cash Flow Company we are happy to run through the numbers with you to see what product is best for you. Contact us today to find out more about how you can qualify!

Watch our most recent video: What Does Debt Service Coverage Ratio Mean?

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What do you need to know about your DSCR loans so your investing is easy, lucrative, fun, and fast?

DSCRs are investor-friendly loans. Banks calculate these loans based on the break-even point between the income of the property (rents) and the payments for that property (taxes, insurance, HOA, etc.). 

Let’s look at an example to see how credit score can impact your DSCR loans:

Once you subtract your expenses from the monthly rent, you’re left with $2,100. This means that, in order to maintain a DSCR ratio of 1 (the minimum to break even), you need a loan that has monthly payments of $2,100 or lower.

In the following example, Investor 1 has maintained a high credit score while Investor 2 has dipped below most banks’ minimum requirements.

In the two examples above, everything is the same except for the credit scores, and the effect is significant. Investor 2 can’t get a loan to refinance, and they’re either going to have to sell the property or keep their original loan for far longer than they wanted. 

Regardless, the person with the higher score is able to move through the investing process easily, lucratively, and quickly.

A bad credit score can tank your leverage and sabotage your investing by creating unnecessary roadblocks for your projects. 

In summary, leverage is king, and credit scores are an important piece of your leverage.

A good credit score makes it easier for you to qualify for and refinance your DSCRs. They can also help you put less money down on a property and increase your cash flow. 

Take care of your money buckets and credit score on the front end so you can succeed when deals come your way.

 

Read the full article here.

Watch the full video here:

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Looking at a DSCR loan calculator and wondering what numbers you need to plug in to make everything come out even? 

If you’re new to the DSCR game, you’ve likely heard people talking about the DSCR ratio and how that number helps you set rents. But how do you actually calculate all of that? 

There are quite a few numbers that go into calculating a DSCR ratio (which is then often used to calculate rents).

What is a DSCR Ratio?

A DSCR ratio is simply the break even point. 

Essentially, you start by adding up all of your monthly expenses (mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, HOA fees, etc.). If you compare that number to the amount you’re charging for rents and those numbers are the same (you’re putting out and bringing in the same $$ amount), then you have a DSCR ratio of 1.

You never want a DSCR below 1 (spending more than you’re bringing in). However, a ratio of 1 simply means that you’re breaking even. In other words, you’re not actually making money unless you can raise the ratio (and raise rents) in order to bring in more money than you’re spending.

Lenders like to see positive cash flow, so it’s typically good to aim for a DSCR ratio of 1.25. That means you’ll make 25% more than you’re spending. 

How to Calculate Your Fixed Costs

The first step of figuring out the ratio is to get a really clear picture of your expenses. Expenses come in two parts: fixed costs and monthly payments for loans. 

Let’s look at fixed costs right now.

These fixed monthly expenses consist of things like HOA fees, insurance, taxes, and other exciting things.

For Example…

Let’s take a peek at some numbers based on a property we reviewed recently:

  1. Taxes. This property had $1,200/year in taxes. Divide that by 12 and you have $100/month. 
  2. Property Insurance. We’re going to look at $1,800/year or $150/month.
  3. Flood Insurance. This property didn’t have any HOA fees, but it did need flood insurance. That comes to $2,4000/year or $200/month.

In total, you have $450/month in expenses for this property before factoring in your mortgage payment.

When working with your DSCR loan calculator, don’t forget about the fixed costs. It’s a critical number in calculating the ratio that’s going to set you up for success.

 

Read the full article here.

Watch the full video here:

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What do you need to know in order to effectively use a DSCR calculator?

If you’re new to the DSCR game, you’ve likely heard people talking about the DSCR ratio and how that number helps you set rents. But how do you actually calculate all of that? 

What is a DSCR Ratio?

A DSCR ratio is simply the break-even point. 

Essentially, you start by adding up all of your monthly expenses (mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, HOA fees, etc.). If you compare that number to the amount you’re charging for rents and those numbers are the same (you’re putting out and bringing in the same $$ amount), then you have a DSCR ratio of 1.

You never want a DSCR below 1 (spending more than you’re bringing in). However, a ratio of 1 simply means that you’re breaking even. In other words, you’re not actually making money unless you can raise the ratio (and raise rents) in order to bring in more money than you’re spending.

Lenders like to see positive cash flow, so it’s typically good to aim for a DSCR ratio of 1.25. That means you’ll make 25% more than you’re spending. 

How to Calculate Your Fixed Costs

The first step of figuring out the ratio is to get a really clear picture of your expenses. Expenses come in two parts: fixed costs and monthly payments for loans. 

Let’s look at fixed costs first.

These fixed monthly expenses consist of things like HOA fees, insurance, taxes, and other exciting things.

For Example…

Let’s take a peek at some numbers based on a property we reviewed recently:

  1. Taxes. This property had $1,200/year in taxes. Divide that by 12 and you have $100/month. 
  2. Property Insurance. We’re going to look at $1,800/year or $150/month.
  3. Flood Insurance. This property didn’t have any HOA fees, but it did need flood insurance. That comes to $2,4000/year or $200/month.

In total, you have $450/month in expenses for this property before factoring in your mortgage payment.

How To Calculate Monthly Loan Payments

Once you know your fixed costs, there are a few other numbers to take into consideration before setting your rents. Once we know how much money is going out every month, we can figure out how much we need coming in.

The property in our example cost $250K and the investor paid a 20% down payment. 

  • Purchase Price = $250,000
  • Down Payment = 20%
  • 30-Year Fixed-Rate (8.5%) DSCR Loan = $200,000

The easiest way to calculate your monthly payments is to use a calculator designed for these numbers. We recommend using a site like calculator.net and selecting their amortization calculator

You can plug in the numbers, and it will do the work for you.

Once you plug in the numbers and hit calculate, you’ll see that your monthly loan payments are just under $1,538.

Updated Monthly Costs:

  • Fixed Costs = $450
  • Approximate Loan Payments = $1,538
  • Total = $1,988

Now that you know all of the money you’re paying each month, you know that to hit a DSCR ratio of 1, you’ll need to have rents of at least $1,988 in order to break even.

Using the DSCR Ratio to Set Rents

As we mentioned before, a DSCR ratio of 1 is fine – you won’t be losing money. But it’s not an optimal investment strategy. 

Lenders like to see you turning a profit, and you should too!

Returning to our above example, let’s say your outgoing expenses are $1,988. If you raise your rents by 25% (raising that DSCR ratio to 1.25 instead of 1), you’ll suddenly be making a 25% profit. 

Here’s how you get those numbers:

Breaking even on your real estate investing projects is great, but making money is the goal. Understanding how to calculate these numbers is a critical step towards successful investing

Check Out Our DSCR Calculator

To help you get an even clearer understanding of DSCRs, check out our DSCR calculator. It’s free to download and easy to use.

You’re also welcome to email us at Info@TheCashFlowCompany.com. We’re more than happy to answer questions and help you find the right deal.

We’re always looking for ways to help you succeed in your investment journey by giving you the knowledge and tools to win.

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There are many DSCR loan options – but how do you calculate the ratio for each one?

Some of your DSCR loan options include 30-year fixed mortgages, 40-year fixed, or interest-only. But how do you know which one’s best?

You’ll have to crunch the numbers. Here’s one example of calculating different DSCR loan options on a $200,000 loan with $2,000 rent.

What Is a DSCR?

DSCR means debt service coverage ratio. It’s a loan for rental properties that hinges on cash flow.

A DSCR loan will be a useful product in your real estate investing career. It requires no income verification and no work or investment history. These loans only require that the property’s income is the same (or higher than) the expenses.

Cash flow is always important to you as an investor, and for DSCR loans, it matters just as much to your lender. The better your cash flow, the better LTV and rates you can get. 

It all depends on a little number – the ratio itself. Here’s how to calculate the DSCR with different loan options.

How to Calculate the DSCR

Loan LTVs and rates on a DSCR are determined by the debt service coverage ratio itself. Now that we have all our raw information, we can plug it into our DSCR calculation to get the ratio.

Here’s how you get the numbers you need:

Add up your expenses (taxes, insurance, and HOA fees) with each loan’s payment amount. Then divide rent by all those expenses.

Costs + Mortgage = Total Expenses

Rent ÷ Total Expenses = DSCR Ratio

Here’s an example of what it would look like with an example using a $200,000 loan and an 8% interest rate:

We want the DSCR to at least equal 1.

Over 1 is ideal. This is a higher cash flow, and you’ll get a better loan.

Less than 1 means negative cash flow, and means you might have to look at a negative DSCR or a no-ratio loan instead.

<1 = Negative Cash Flow

At 1 = Rent = Expenses

>1 = Positive cash flow

Read the full article here.

Watch the video here.

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