Houston investors tend to build portfolios fast because entry prices across Harris County are moderate and the metro keeps adding jobs and people. The hard part is not buying the seventh house. It is carrying seven tax bills, seven insurance policies and seven loans.
In short: LendingStreet's blanket portfolio loans put five or more Houston-area investment properties, each 1 to 8 units, under one loan with one closing and one monthly payment. The loan qualifies on the portfolio's combined cash flow, with LLC borrowers standard and no W-2s or tax returns. Release provisions let you sell one property without refinancing the rest, and properties outside Texas can be included on some programs.
Most Houston rental portfolios are made of 1960s to 1990s brick ranch homes and newer tract houses rather than older wood-frame stock. Investors tend to cluster in a few submarkets where prices, rents and tenant demand line up.
Spring Branch and Oak Forest draw tenants who work in the Energy Corridor and Galleria. Alief, Sharpstown and Westchase offer lower prices on the southwest side. On the north and east sides, Aldine, Greenspoint, Humble, Channelview, Pasadena and Baytown are common with investors focused on cash flow, while Katy, Cypress, Pearland and Missouri City pull families who want newer homes and suburban schools.
A blanket loan adds up the rent from every property and divides it by the full monthly payment: principal and interest on the one loan plus every property's taxes and insurance (and HOA dues where they apply). A strong house can carry a weaker one, which is often the reason investors move to a blanket in the first place.
The standard minimum is 1.0x, and in Houston the tax line is usually what decides whether a portfolio clears it.
Texas has no state income tax, and local governments lean on property taxes. A Houston rental can be taxed by Harris County, the city, a school district, a community college district and, in many suburban subdivisions, a municipal utility district (MUD). Investors do not get homestead exemptions or the homestead appraisal cap.
Harris Central Appraisal District, Fort Bend Central Appraisal District and Montgomery Central Appraisal District reappraise regularly. Many Houston investors protest values each spring, and a successful protest can improve portfolio DSCR on a refinance. Use the current tax bill on each property, not an estimate from a seller who had a homestead exemption.
This example is illustrative and not a quote. An investor owns seven single-family rentals worth about $1,610,000 combined, renting for $13,700 a month. A blanket refinance at 70% of value produces a loan of $1,127,000.
Estimated principal and interest is about $7,842. Taxes across all seven homes are budgeted at about $3,153 a month and insurance, including wind coverage, at $1,050, for a total of about $12,045. Portfolio DSCR is about 1.14x.
Tax rates matter. If the same portfolio carried taxes closer to $2,147 a month, typical of areas without a MUD and after a successful protest, DSCR would be about 1.24x.
| Property area | Estimated value | Monthly rent |
|---|---|---|
| Spring Branch | $265,000 | $2,150 |
| Alief | $215,000 | $1,850 |
| Aldine | $190,000 | $1,700 |
| Pasadena | $220,000 | $1,900 |
| Katy (older section) | $255,000 | $2,100 |
| Channelview | $205,000 | $1,800 |
| Humble | $260,000 | $2,200 |
| Total | $1,610,000 | $13,700 |
Houston portfolios often span several flood zones. A home in Meyerland or near Brays Bayou may need flood insurance while one in Spring Branch does not, and homes east toward the Ship Channel and Baytown can fall in areas where windstorm coverage is a separate policy. Many investors use one landlord policy that schedules every property, which keeps renewal dates in sync.
Bring each property's flood determination and insurance declarations. Flood history from Harvey or later storms is worth disclosing early because it affects both the premium and the valuation.
Release provisions let you sell one property and pay down the blanket loan without refinancing the rest. The release terms, including how much of the sale proceeds goes to the loan, are set when the loan is written. After a release, the remaining properties still need to support the loan, so plan sales with the portfolio ratio in mind. Our blanket loan release clause guide walks through how this works.
Separate DSCR loans can make sense if you plan to sell several homes soon or want each property on its own terms. A blanket usually wins when you have five or more stabilized rentals, want one payment and one renewal date, or have a few weaker houses that would struggle to clear 1.0x alone. See our comparison of blanket loans and individual DSCR loans.
If you also own rentals in Dallas, San Antonio or another state, multi-state portfolio loans can combine them on some programs.
Investors who buy steadily in Houston often end up with a stack of loans from different sources, each with its own maturity, escrow account and payment date. Some were short-term loans used to buy and repair homes in Alief or Pasadena that never got refinanced. Others carry balloon dates that land in the same year.
Consolidating into one blanket can retire those loans, set one long-term structure and, when values have risen, release equity for the next purchase. Cash-out goes up to 75% LTV, and cash-out seasoning varies by program.
It also simplifies the paperwork for the next lender, appraiser or partner who wants to see the whole portfolio at once. One loan, one schedule and one payment history are easier to explain than a dozen separate files.
A clean schedule speeds things up. Send it through the form below or call (877) 298-1001.
Five or more investment properties, each with 1 to 8 units.
Yes. Properties anywhere in the Houston metro can be combined, and properties in other states can be included on some programs.
Yes. MUD taxes are part of the property tax bill, so they are part of the payment used to calculate DSCR.
It counts, but it is averaged with the rest. A blanket qualifies on combined cash flow, so stronger homes can carry weaker ones.
Yes. Release provisions let you sell a property and pay down the loan without refinancing the whole portfolio.
It can. A lower tax bill lowers the payment used in the ratio, which can improve DSCR on a refinance.
No. Blanket loans qualify on the portfolio's rent, not your personal income.
No. Our investor loans are business-purpose loans on non-owner-occupied property.
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