Bismarck-Mandan landlords often hold a mix that is unusual elsewhere: twin homes on separate lots, a fourplex or two from the 1970s, and single-family houses in older neighborhoods near the Capitol. A blanket loan can bring them under one payment.
In short: LendingStreet offers blanket portfolio loans that combine five or more Bismarck-area rentals, each 1 to 8 units, into one loan with one closing and one payment. The loan qualifies on combined portfolio rent rather than your income, and release provisions let you sell a property without refinancing the rest. Portfolio pricing applies, and properties elsewhere in North Dakota or in other states can be included on some programs.
Bismarck saw a building wave during the oil boom of the 2010s, and many local investors bought twin homes, townhomes and small apartment buildings during and after it. Those portfolios now often carry several loans with different maturities and lenders.
A blanket loan replaces them with one note, one payment and one maturity. It can also pull equity built up since purchase in a single closing, rather than refinancing each property separately.
Consolidation also helps when loans from the boom years start to mature or reset. Rather than facing several renewals in different years, a blanket refinance puts the whole group on one schedule and one set of terms.
Twin homes, two homes sharing a wall on separate lots, are common in north and south Bismarck and in Mandan. Because each half is its own parcel, they can be held, sold and released separately, which fits a blanket structure well.
Older single-family homes in the Cathedral District and Highland Acres rent to state employees and medical staff. Fourplexes and eight-plexes from the 1970s and 80s are scattered across both cities. Each property type has its own tax bill, special assessments and insurance profile.
Some investors also hold rentals in Lincoln, a growing small city southeast of Bismarck, or in rural Burleigh and Morton counties. Those can be included when they meet program requirements for value and condition.
The blanket loan adds rent from every property and compares it with the combined payment: principal and interest on the single loan, plus each property's taxes, special assessment installments and insurance. The result must clear the program minimum, usually 1.0x.
Special assessments are the local wrinkle. A property with a large remaining street assessment can pull the portfolio ratio down even if its rent is strong, so list every assessment on your schedule.
The flexibility of portfolio qualifying is the main advantage over separate DSCR loans. A twin home with a slightly weak ratio can be carried by a fourplex with strong rent. One vacant unit affects the whole file, though, so bring current leases for every property.
This example is illustrative and not a quote. An owner refinances five properties, including a Mandan fourplex and a downtown-area duplex, worth $1,730,000 with total rent of $12,050 a month. Taxes and special assessments total $2,000 a month and insurance $750.
At 70% of value the loan is $1,211,000, with estimated principal and interest of about $8,467 on a 30-year term. The combined payment is about $11,217 and portfolio DSCR is about 1.07x.
| Property | Value | Monthly rent | Allocated loan at 70% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandan fourplex | $440,000 | $4,000 | $308,000 |
| North Bismarck twin home | $295,000 | $1,800 | $206,500 |
| Highland Acres house | $310,000 | $1,850 | $217,000 |
| South Bismarck house | $325,000 | $1,900 | $227,500 |
| Duplex near downtown | $360,000 | $2,500 | $252,000 |
| Total | $1,730,000 | $12,050 | $1,211,000 |
Each property has an allocated share of the loan. When you sell one, the release clause sets the paydown needed to remove it from the lien, often more than its allocation. Terms vary by program.
In the example, if the release price were 120% of the allocation, an assumption for illustration, selling the north Bismarck twin home would require paying down $247,800 against its $206,500 share. Because twin homes sit on their own lots, they are simple to release individually.
Plan your sales with the ratio in mind. Selling the fourplex, the strongest cash-flow property in the example, would leave the remaining four properties with a lower combined ratio, which could limit later releases. Selling a weaker property usually helps the file.
North Dakota computes taxable value from a fraction of market value and applies local mill levies. The primary residence credit available to homeowners does not apply to investors.
In Bismarck, special assessments for streets, water and sewer projects can run for many years. Some owners pay them off at refinance to improve cash flow. Confirm balances with the City of Bismarck and the City of Mandan, and confirm taxes with each assessor.
Paying off a large assessment at refinance raises the loan amount slightly but removes the installment from the payment, which can improve the portfolio ratio. We can model the file both ways.
Hail, wind and long winters shape insurance costs. Older fourplexes with boilers and original roofs may cost more to insure, and some insurers ask for proof of recent boiler service. A single landlord policy across the portfolio can simplify renewals.
Properties in low-lying parts of south Bismarck and Mandan near the Missouri and Heart rivers may be in mapped flood zones. Get a flood determination for each address.
Winter is also a maintenance test. A portfolio with a local property manager, documented furnace and boiler service and a plan for snow removal is easier to insure and easier to underwrite.
Send a schedule with each address, unit count, rent, lease dates, value, taxes, special assessment balance, insurance and existing loan balance. LendingStreet will run the portfolio ratio and show which properties strengthen or weaken it.
If you have fewer than five properties, individual DSCR loans may fit better. Call (877) 298-1001 or use the form below to get a quote.
Yes. Each half is its own parcel, so twin homes can be included and released individually.
The annual installment counts in the payment and lowers portfolio DSCR. Some owners pay balances off at refinance.
Five or more investment properties, each with 1 to 8 units.
Yes. Properties across North Dakota can be combined, and some programs include other states.
No. The loan qualifies on rental income. We review credit, reserves and the properties.
Yes, up to program limits, as long as the portfolio still clears the minimum at the new payment.
Yes. Each property can have 1 to 8 units, so six- and eight-plexes can sit in the same blanket loan as houses and twin homes.
No. Our investor loans are business-purpose loans on non-owner-occupied property, so the loan is only for rentals you do not occupy.
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