Florida has no state income tax, deep short-term rental demand, and sustained in-migration. It also has the most complicated carrying-cost picture of any major investor market in the country. Since 2022, insurance availability and pricing have reshaped what a Florida rental actually costs to hold, and any underwriting that uses a national insurance assumption will be wrong here.
The short answer: A DSCR loan qualifies on the property’s rental income rather than the borrower’s personal income. The debt service coverage ratio divides gross rent by the monthly payment including taxes, insurance and any HOA; a ratio of 1.0 or better means the property covers its own debt. No W-2 or tax returns are required and LLC borrowers are welcome. In Florida, the practical question is usually whether local rent-to-price ratios and carrying costs support the ratio a given capital source requires.
Tampa Bay, Orlando and Jacksonville carry Florida’s deepest long-term rental demand with more workable entry pricing than South Florida. Miami–Dade, Broward and Palm Beach trade at higher basis with correspondingly tighter ratios. Southwest Florida and the Panhandle skew toward short-term rental strategies, where revenue assumptions carry more variance and municipal permitting matters more than in long-term rental underwriting.
Primary markets: Miami · Fort Lauderdale · Tampa · Orlando · Jacksonville · Fort Myers
Rent-to-price ratios vary sharply within Florida, and that is what determines whether a DSCR clears. A property that ratios comfortably in one metro can fall short in another at the same purchase price. Where the ratio comes in light, the options are more equity, longer amortization, or a capital source offering sub-1.0 or no-ratio programs — those exist, but not every lender writes them.
Your rental ratios cleanly above the lender’s minimum, the property type is conventional, and you value one relationship across a growing portfolio.
The ratio comes in light, the property type gets excluded — condotels, 5-to-8 unit, non-warrantable — or you need a no-ratio program that not every lender writes.
No lender is best for every deal. Kiavi, Visio Lending, LendingOne, CoreVest, Angel Oak, Griffin Funding all write DSCR rental loans in Florida and all are legitimate options. They differ on leverage, credit floors, property types and experience requirements. The useful question is which fits this deal.
Works: A buy-and-hold investor purchasing a stabilized rental, or a BRRRR investor refinancing out of a bridge or renovation loan into permanent debt.
Does not: The property is owner-occupied, or rent falls short of the payment with no compensating equity and no access to a sub-1.0 program.
Because insurance sits inside the debt service calculation. DSCR divides gross rent by the full monthly payment including taxes and insurance, and Florida premiums moved sharply after 2022 as carriers tightened availability. A ratio built on a national insurance assumption will overstate coverage, sometimes by enough to flip a deal from approvable to declined. Get a real quote before underwriting the ratio.
Sometimes, and the association matters as much as the unit. Post-2021 structural integrity and reserve requirements have affected condo association finances, and buildings with deferred milestone inspections or underfunded reserves are frequently declined or treated as non-warrantable. The building’s documentation determines financeability more than the borrower does.
There is no single best lender for every scenario. Kiavi, Visio Lending, LendingOne, CoreVest, Angel Oak, Griffin Funding all write DSCR rental loans and each has different guidelines. The right answer depends on the specific deal. LendingStreet places the same scenario across 30+ capital sources so the comparison happens on one application.
Yes, in all 50 states including Florida. These are business-purpose loans on non-owner-occupied investment property, from $150,000 with no stated maximum. No W-2 or tax returns required and LLC borrowers are welcome.
Have a Florida deal? Tell us the scenario and we will price it across our capital sources.
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