St. Paul is the one Minnesota city where rent growth on most existing rentals is limited by ordinance. For portfolio owners, that turns financing into a question of today's rent rather than tomorrow's, and it makes how the debt is structured matter more.
In short: LendingStreet offers blanket portfolio loans that combine five or more St. Paul-area investment properties, each with 1 to 8 units, under one loan with one closing and one payment. The loan qualifies on the portfolio's combined current rent, with no W-2s or tax returns, and release provisions let you sell individual properties without refinancing the rest. Portfolio pricing and LLC borrowers are standard.
Many St. Paul landlords own a mix of single-family homes, up-down duplexes and small apartment buildings bought over many years, often financed by different banks on different terms. A blanket loan replaces those notes with one balance, one payment and one maturity, and the combined rent of strong properties can support weaker ones.
Consolidation also helps when individual properties carry balances too small for a stand-alone DSCR loan, which starts at $150,000, or when you want to pull equity from several properties at once.
Because rent growth inside the city is limited, the debt side of the portfolio is one of the few levers a St. Paul owner fully controls. A single long-term payment, with 30-year terms on some programs, can lower monthly debt service compared with a stack of shorter balloon notes and make the portfolio's cash flow easier to forecast.
St. Paul voters approved a rent stabilization ordinance in 2021 that originally capped most annual increases at 3%. The city council has since amended it, adding exemptions for newer construction and changing how rents can be reset between tenants, and landlords can apply for exceptions in some cases. The details have changed more than once, so confirm how the current ordinance applies to each building.
For a blanket loan, the practical effect is that the portfolio is underwritten on in-place leases and supportable market rent, not on aggressive rent growth. If your plan depends on raising rents sharply after purchase, check the ordinance first. Rentals in Minneapolis and the suburbs are not covered by St. Paul's ordinance.
Portfolios tend to concentrate in neighborhoods with older, lower-priced housing and steady demand: Frogtown, Payne-Phalen, the North End, Dayton's Bluff, the West Side and parts of Hamline-Midway and Como. Mac-Groveland and Merriam Park have more expensive duplexes near the colleges. Suburban holdings in West St. Paul, South St. Paul, Maplewood and Roseville are common, and they can sit in the same blanket loan.
| Area | Typical holdings | Strength | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frogtown / North End | Older single-families, duplexes | Lower entry prices | Condition and turnover |
| Payne-Phalen / Dayton's Bluff | Victorians, duplexes | Value for unit count | Deferred maintenance |
| Hamline-Midway / Como | Bungalows, up-down duplexes | Stable demand, Allianz Field area | Rising prices |
| Mac-Groveland / Merriam Park | Duplexes near colleges | Strong rents | Student housing overlay |
| West St. Paul / Maplewood | Ramblers, split-levels | Outside city rent ordinance | Separate suburban codes |
This example is illustrative and not a quote. An investor owns six rentals worth a combined $1,780,000: an up-down duplex in Hamline-Midway, two single-family homes in Payne-Phalen, a duplex in Frogtown, a single-family in the North End and a rambler in West St. Paul. Total rent is $16,200 a month.
A blanket loan at 70% of combined value is $1,246,000. Estimated principal and interest on a 30-year term is about $8,500 a month. Taxes across the six parcels are about $2,350 a month and insurance about $980, for a total payment of about $11,830. Portfolio DSCR is about 1.37x, based on in-place rents with no assumed increases.
| Item | Portfolio total |
|---|---|
| Combined value, six properties | $1,780,000 |
| Blanket loan at 70% | $1,246,000 |
| Estimated principal and interest | $8,500 |
| Property taxes | $2,350 |
| Insurance | $980 |
| Total monthly payment | $11,830 |
| Monthly rent | $16,200 |
| Portfolio DSCR | About 1.37x |
Each property in the blanket carries an allocated share of the loan. To sell one, you pay its release amount, usually the allocation plus a premium the program sets, and the lien is removed from that property only.
In the example, the Frogtown duplex worth $240,000 carries an allocated loan of about $168,000. If the program set the release at 110% of allocation, the payoff would be about $184,800, leaving roughly $1,061,200 on the remaining five. Those five must still clear the program's ratio on their own rent.
St. Paul's Department of Safety and Inspections runs a Fire Certificate of Occupancy program that inspects rental housing on a regular cycle, and properties with poor inspection histories are inspected more often. Lenders and insurers may ask about each property's status, and open orders can slow a closing.
Keep a schedule showing each property's certificate status, last inspection date and any open items. Suburban properties follow their own city's rental licensing rules.
The appraiser will also visit each property. Properties with significant deferred maintenance, unpermitted units or open orders may be valued lower or left out until repairs are done, which is better to know before you settle on a target loan amount.
Investor-owned properties in Minnesota are classified as non-homestead and taxed at a higher share of value than owner-occupied homes. St. Paul also levies special assessments for street reconstruction and other improvements, which show up on the tax statement. Use each parcel's actual statement, including assessments.
Insurance on older Minnesota housing reflects roof age, heating systems and freeze risk. Winter vacancies cost more here than in warmer markets, because empty units still need heat.
Organize the portfolio before requesting terms.
Our investor loans are business-purpose loans on non-owner-occupied property. Send your property schedule through the form below or call (877) 298-1001, and we will test the portfolio at several loan amounts using current rents. The Minnesota blanket page covers Minneapolis, Rochester, Duluth and greater Minnesota.
It affects how much rent growth you can count on. Blanket loans are underwritten on in-place and supportable market rents, so confirm how the current ordinance applies to each building.
Yes. Properties in St. Paul, Minneapolis and the suburbs can be combined, as long as each is a 1-8 unit investment property.
Five or more investment properties, each with 1 to 8 units.
Yes. You pay the release amount for that property and the lien is removed from it. Release terms vary by program.
Yes. Assessments that appear on the tax statement are part of the tax line used to calculate DSCR.
Some programs allow properties in more than one state. Ask about multi-state portfolio loans.
Yes, up to 75% of combined value on some programs, with lower leverage on larger balances, if the portfolio still clears the ratio.
No. Every property in the portfolio must be a non-owner-occupied investment property.
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