Plenty of Atlanta investors built their portfolios one house at a time: a brick ranch in Southwest Atlanta, two homes in Clayton County, a duplex in East Atlanta. Five or more separate loans means five or more payments, maturities and escrow accounts. A blanket loan rolls them into one.
In short: LendingStreet offers blanket portfolio loans that put five or more Atlanta-area rentals, each 1 to 8 units, under one loan with one closing and one payment. The loan is qualified on the portfolio's combined cash flow, so a strong house can carry a weaker one, and release provisions let you sell a single property without refinancing the rest. Pricing is set for the portfolio as a whole.
Most metro Atlanta rental portfolios sit where prices still let rent cover the payment. Inside the city, that has meant neighborhoods such as Southwest Atlanta, Oakland City, Adair Park, Capitol View, Westview and parts of East Atlanta. South of I-20, investors stack single-family homes in Clayton County (Jonesboro, Riverdale, Morrow), Henry County (Stockbridge, McDonough), south DeKalb, Douglas County and Rockdale County.
These areas share a lot of 1950s to 1980s brick ranches and split-levels, plus newer subdivisions from the 2000s. That mix matters for insurance and repairs, and it shows up in appraisals.
Rent levels vary block by block. A renovated three-bedroom near a MARTA station or a major employer such as the airport, the Fort Gillem logistics area or the hospitals along I-75 can rent well above an older home a few miles away, so the rent roll you submit should show actual leases for each address rather than a portfolio average.
Many Atlanta-area rentals were bought for amounts that sit near or below the $150,000 minimum for an individual DSCR loan. Grouped, they easily clear it. The portfolio also qualifies on its total rent against its total payment, so one vacant or under-rented home does not sink the file.
One closing also means one set of title work and one appraisal process to manage, instead of five or more.
It also simplifies your books. One monthly payment and one escrow account for taxes and insurance replace a stack of statements from different servicers, which makes it easier to see how the portfolio is really performing and to plan the next purchase.
Insurance can be quoted as one portfolio policy, which is often simpler than separate policies for each house.
Georgia counties reassess regularly, and investors do not get the homestead exemption. Each county also has its own millage, and properties inside the City of Atlanta pay city and school levies on top of county taxes. A home bought from an owner-occupant often sees a jump in its next bill.
Georgia also charges an intangible recording tax on new long-term notes, based on the loan amount, plus a transfer tax on deeds. On a portfolio refinance, ask your closing attorney for these figures early. Georgia closings are handled by attorneys, so build their fee into your budget.
This example is illustrative and not a quote. An investor owns seven single-family rentals in Southwest Atlanta, Clayton County and south DeKalb, valued at $1,610,000 together. Rents total $13,650 a month. Taxes are $1,650 a month for all seven and insurance is $1,050.
At 70% LTV the blanket loan is $1,127,000. Estimated principal and interest on a 30-year term is about $7,688, so the total payment is about $10,388. Portfolio DSCR is about 1.31x, comfortably above 1.0x even though two of the homes alone would be close to break-even.
| Item | Seven-home portfolio |
|---|---|
| Combined value | $1,610,000 |
| Loan at 70% LTV | $1,127,000 |
| Estimated principal and interest | $7,688 |
| Taxes | $1,650 |
| Insurance | $1,050 |
| Total monthly payment | $10,388 |
| Combined rent | $13,650 |
| Portfolio DSCR | 1.31x |
Release provisions set what you pay down to take one property out of the blanket. The release price is usually a set percentage above that property's allocated share of the loan, and it is written into the loan documents. In the example, a home valued at $220,000 carries an allocated loan of about $154,000. If the release price were 120% of the allocated amount, you would pay about $184,800 from the sale to release it.
The remaining properties must still meet the DSCR standard after the release. Our guide at /blanket-loan-release-clause.html walks through the details.
A blanket loan is not always the answer. If you plan to sell several homes within a year or two, or if one property needs heavy rehab, separate DSCR loans or a bridge loan on the project may be cleaner. Compare the trade-offs at /blanket-loan-vs-individual-dscr-loans.html.
A blanket file moves fastest when the rent roll is clean. For each property, list the address, units, lease start and end dates, monthly rent, security deposit and who pays utilities. Flag any home that is vacant, on a month-to-month lease or behind on rent.
Underwriters typically use the lower of actual rent and market rent for each property, so a home leased well under market drags down portfolio DSCR until it turns over. If you are about to renew several leases at higher rents, it may pay to time the refinance after the new leases are signed. Copies of the current mortgage statements and tax bills for each home round out the package.
If your portfolio includes rentals in Alabama, Tennessee or the Carolinas as well as Atlanta, some programs can cover more than one state in a single loan. See /multi-state-portfolio-loans.html for how that works.
Our investor loans are business-purpose loans on non-owner-occupied property. Send a rent roll with addresses, current loan balances, rents and tax bills. The team will size the blanket at a few leverage levels and show the release terms that fit your plans. Call (877) 298-1001 or use the form below.
Five or more investment properties, each with 1 to 8 units.
Yes. Individual DSCR loans start at $150,000, but in a blanket the minimum applies to the total loan, so lower-priced homes can be grouped.
No. It is qualified on the portfolio's combined rent against the combined payment.
Yes, through the release provision. You pay down the agreed release price and the rest of the portfolio stays in place.
Yes, on some programs, subject to the portfolio's value, DSCR and the program's cash-out limits.
No. Qualification is based on the properties' rent, not personal income.
Usually a blanket covers the properties at closing. New purchases are typically financed separately or folded in at a later refinance.
Georgia closings are handled by attorneys, who also calculate the intangible recording and transfer taxes.
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