Louisville is a two-state rental market. Many investors who own houses in Okolona, Shively or the Highlands also own a few across the river in Jeffersonville, New Albany or Clarksville, Indiana. A blanket loan can put all of them under one note, and on some programs the state line is not a problem.
In short: LendingStreet offers blanket portfolio loans for Louisville investors with 5 or more rentals, each 1 to 8 units, under one loan with one closing and one payment. We qualify the loan on the portfolio's combined rent, include release provisions so you can sell a property without refinancing the rest, and on some programs combine Kentucky and Southern Indiana properties in one loan. Loans start at $150,000 and LLC borrowers are standard.
Louisville rentals are modestly priced compared with national averages, and a portfolio built over years often carries a mix of local bank loans, seller-financed notes and paid-off houses. Each loan has its own maturity, escrow and renewal terms. A blanket loan replaces them with one.
The $150,000 minimum applies to the blanket loan as a whole, so houses worth $160,000 to $200,000 that would be hard to finance individually at a normal LTV can be combined. Consolidating can also release equity from paid-off properties to fund the next purchase.
Investors here tend to stack properties in a few kinds of areas, and a mix of them spreads risk.
| Area | Typical rental | Tenants | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okolona, Fern Creek, Buechel | 1950s to 1970s ranches | Families, working households | Roof and HVAC age |
| Shively, Pleasure Ridge Park, Valley Station | Postwar houses | Families, industrial workers | Flood zones in low areas |
| Germantown, Schnitzelburg, Beechmont | Shotgun doubles, small houses | Young workers, hospital staff | Older systems; legal unit count |
| Jeffersonville, New Albany, Clarksville (IN) | Houses and duplexes | Commuters to Louisville, local workers | Indiana tax caps and rules |
A blanket loan adds up rent from every property and compares it with one payment: principal and interest plus every property's taxes, insurance and HOA dues. The standard minimum is 1.0x for the whole group, so a strong duplex can offset a house that rents a little light.
The underwriter uses the lower of lease rent and market rent for each unit and will want leases or a rent roll for all of them. Vacant units at the time of the loan usually count at market rent, but several vacancies at once can raise questions.
This example is illustrative and not a quote. An investor owns five Louisville rentals in Okolona, Beechmont, Shively, Fern Creek and Schnitzelburg, plus three houses in Jeffersonville, New Albany and Clarksville. Together they are worth about $1,670,000 and rent for $12,425 a month. The investor refinances all eight into one blanket loan at 70% of value, $1,169,000, on a program that allows properties in both states.
Estimated principal and interest on a 30-year term is about $8,174. Property taxes are budgeted at about 1% of value a year on the Kentucky houses and at Indiana's 2% cap on the Indiana rentals, about $1,904 a month in total. Insurance is about $1,160. The total is about $11,238, for a portfolio DSCR of about 1.11x.
| Property | Value | Monthly rent |
|---|---|---|
| House, Okolona (KY) | $195,000 | $1,450 |
| House, Beechmont (KY) | $180,000 | $1,375 |
| House, Shively (KY) | $165,000 | $1,300 |
| House, Fern Creek (KY) | $235,000 | $1,650 |
| Duplex, Schnitzelburg (KY) | $280,000 | $2,150 |
| House, Jeffersonville (IN) | $225,000 | $1,600 |
| House, New Albany (IN) | $200,000 | $1,475 |
| House, Clarksville (IN) | $190,000 | $1,425 |
| Total | $1,670,000 | $12,425 |
In Kentucky, property is assessed at fair cash value by the Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator, and the bill combines state, Metro, school and other rates. Homestead exemptions do not apply to rentals. Kentucky charges a deed transfer tax on purchases.
Indiana caps property taxes as a share of assessed value, with a higher cap for rental property than for a homestead. That cap is often what Southern Indiana rentals pay, which can make their tax line higher than a similar Louisville house. Check the Clark County or Floyd County bill for each property. Combining states is available on some programs; see /multi-state-portfolio-loans.html.
Each property carries an allocated share of the blanket loan. To sell one, you pay a release price set in the loan documents, usually more than that share, and there may be a test that the remaining properties still meet a minimum DSCR. The rest of the portfolio stays in place.
Louisville investors use releases to sell houses in neighborhoods where owner-occupants are paying up, such as parts of the Highlands or Germantown, or to trim properties that need more work than they are worth. See /blanket-loan-release-clause.html.
Louisville Metro enforces property maintenance codes and has rental registration requirements; confirm what applies to each property with Louisville Metro Codes and Regulations. Indiana cities have their own rules.
Parts of southwest Louisville, the West End and areas near the Ohio River and its creeks sit in flood zones. Flood insurance adds to the payment for those properties. Severe storms and hail also affect premiums, and some investors carry one policy across the portfolio.
If one property is much stronger than the others, it may get better terms alone, and a weak one may drag down the group. Compare both approaches at /blanket-loan-vs-individual-dscr-loans.html before deciding.
Send a schedule of addresses, values, rents and balances for each property, in both states, through the form below, or call (877) 298-1001.
The best time to refinance a portfolio is when nearly every unit is leased and your records are clean. In Louisville, that usually means avoiding the weeks right after a large batch of lease expirations. If several houses are being turned at once, finish the work first.
Gather a rent roll, current leases, the latest tax bills from the Jefferson County PVA and the Indiana county treasurer, insurance declarations and a list of recent improvements for each property. Underwriters move faster when the file arrives complete, and appraisers can use your improvement list to support value.
If you are about to buy more houses, consider whether to close those first and include them, or keep them separate and add a second blanket later.
On some programs, yes. Properties in Kentucky and Southern Indiana can be combined in one blanket loan.
Five or more rentals, each with 1 to 8 units.
Indiana caps property taxes at a share of assessed value, with a higher cap for rentals than for homesteads. Rentals often pay at that cap.
Yes. You pay the release price for that property, usually more than its share of the loan, and the rest stays in place.
No. The blanket loan qualifies on the portfolio's rent. You need a 620 or higher credit score and reserves.
Yes. Cash-out goes up to 75% LTV, with seasoning that varies by program.
It can usually still be included, but flood insurance adds to the payment and lowers the portfolio ratio.
Usually you would finance new purchases separately and combine them into a new blanket once you have five or more, rather than adding them to an existing loan.
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