Scranton rentals are often priced below the minimum loan size on their own. A West Side double or a North Scranton single can trade well under $200,000, which is why so many Lackawanna County landlords find it easier to finance their properties together than one at a time.
In short: LendingStreet's blanket portfolio loans put 5 or more Scranton-area investment properties, each with 1 to 8 units, under one loan with one closing and one monthly payment. The loan is qualified on the combined cash flow of the portfolio, with no W-2s or tax returns, and release provisions let you sell a property and pay down only its share. It is a practical fit for owners of doubles and small multifamily buildings across Scranton, Dunmore, Old Forge and Wilkes-Barre.
Our DSCR loans start at $150,000. In a market where many rentals sell for less than that, financing each property alone can be awkward or impossible. Grouping five or more properties creates one balance that easily clears the minimum, and the portfolio's combined rent carries the payment.
Scranton landlords also tend to build slowly, buying one double at a time with cash or short local loans. After a few years they hold six or eight properties, each with a different maturity date. A blanket refinance replaces that patchwork with one payment, one escrow account and one maturity.
Portfolios here usually mix side-by-side doubles, up-and-down duplexes and older single-family homes. Common areas include the West Side and Hyde Park, the South Side and Minooka, North Scranton and Providence, and the Hill Section near the University of Scranton, where student and young-professional demand is steady.
Many portfolios also cross borough lines into Dunmore, Taylor, Old Forge, Throop and Dickson City, or south into Pittston and Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County. Properties in more than one county can sit under the same loan, and some programs can even include rentals in other states.
Instead of testing each property, the lender adds up the rent from every property and compares it with the total payment, including principal, interest, taxes, insurance and any HOA dues. A property with a vacancy or a thin margin can be carried by stronger properties in the same pool.
Each property is still valued, usually by appraisal, and each needs to be a legal rental. Lackawanna County's municipalities handle rental registration and inspections differently, so confirm that every property is registered where required.
This example is illustrative and not a quote. An investor owns four doubles and two single-family homes across the West Side, South Side, North Scranton, Minooka, Dunmore and Old Forge, valued at $1,025,000 in total. Combined rent is $10,950 a month.
At 75% LTV the blanket loan is $768,750. Estimated principal and interest on a 30-year loan is about $5,375. Taxes total about $1,570 a month and insurance about $720, for a total payment near $7,665. The portfolio DSCR is about 1.43x.
| Property | Value | Monthly rent | Monthly taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Side double | $175,000 | $2,050 | $270 |
| South Side double | $165,000 | $1,950 | $255 |
| North Scranton single | $145,000 | $1,300 | $220 |
| Dunmore double | $195,000 | $2,150 | $300 |
| Minooka single | $160,000 | $1,400 | $240 |
| Old Forge double | $185,000 | $2,100 | $285 |
| Total | $1,025,000 | $10,950 | $1,570 |
Each property is given an allocated share of the loan. In the example, the Dunmore double's share at 75% would be about $146,250. The release clause sets how much you repay to free that property, often an amount above its allocated share, and the remaining properties must still meet the program's DSCR after the release.
Read the release terms before you close, especially if you plan to sell one or two properties within a few years. Our article on blanket loan release clauses walks through how they are written.
Lackawanna County has gone many years without a countywide reassessment, so assessed values can sit far from market values and tax bills vary widely between similar homes. A future reassessment could change the numbers. Use actual tax bills for every property, including school and municipal taxes.
Much of Scranton's rental housing dates to the coal era. Lenders and insurers will ask about roofs, heating systems, wiring and porches, and some properties may need repairs before they qualify. Pennsylvania's realty transfer tax applies on a purchase, with local shares that vary by municipality.
A blanket loan usually carries one escrow account for taxes and insurance across all properties. That means you track one set of payments instead of six, but it also means the escrow must be funded for every property's school, county and municipal tax bills, which in Pennsylvania come at different times of the year.
Insurance can be written as one blanket policy or several policies, as long as every property is covered and the lender is named correctly. Many Scranton landlords carry older policies on each property; a blanket refinance is a good time to review coverage limits, roof ages and liability coverage.
Title work is done for each property. Older coal-region parcels sometimes carry old easements or boundary questions, so start title early if you want to close on a set date.
Separate DSCR loans keep each property independent, which can make selling easier. A blanket loan simplifies management and helps when single properties fall under the minimum or run thin on their own. Our comparison of blanket and individual DSCR loans covers the tradeoffs in detail.
For properties elsewhere in the state, see our Pennsylvania blanket portfolio loan page.
Our investor loans are business-purpose loans on non-owner-occupied property. Use the form below or call (877) 298-1001 with the property details, current rents and what you want to accomplish, and we will size the loan against the cash flow and walk you through the options.
Five or more investment properties, each with 1 to 8 units. Doubles, duplexes and small multifamily buildings all count.
Yes. Rentals in Wilkes-Barre, Pittston or other Luzerne County towns can sit under the same loan as Scranton properties.
Yes, through a blanket loan. The minimum applies to the total loan, so several lower-priced properties together can clear it.
The portfolio DSCR uses combined rent, so a vacancy can be offset by stronger properties, as long as the total still meets the program minimum.
Yes. The release clause sets the payoff amount for that property, and the remaining pool must still qualify after the sale.
No. The loan qualifies on the properties' rent. LLC borrowers are standard, and the minimum credit score is 620.
Cash-out is available up to 75% LTV, varying by program, if the portfolio still meets the DSCR minimum at the new payment.
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