Waco rentals are affordable, which is great for cash flow and awkward for financing. Many single houses would need loans below our $150,000 minimum on their own. Put eight of them together and the math, and the paperwork, get much simpler.
In short: LendingStreet offers blanket portfolio loans that combine five or more Waco-area rentals, each 1 to 8 units, into one loan qualified on the portfolio's combined cash flow, with one closing, one payment and release provisions when you sell a property. The $150,000 minimum applies to the whole loan, not each house, so lower-priced rentals in Bellmead, Lacy Lakeview or Robinson can join. LLC borrowers are standard and no W-2s or tax returns are needed.
A Waco investor might own a house in Sanger Heights, two in Hewitt, a duplex in south Waco and a few homes in Bellmead or Lacy Lakeview. At typical local prices, several of those would produce individual loans under $150,000. A blanket loan sizes the debt on the group, so smaller properties can be financed alongside larger ones.
It also replaces several closings, servicers and escrow accounts with one, which matters for landlords who self-manage.
Blanket loans are also a common way to pull equity from a portfolio built with cash. Many Waco investors bought houses outright or with short-term money over the past decade. A blanket cash-out refinance can turn that equity into funds for the next purchases while leaving one manageable payment.
Close-in Waco neighborhoods such as Sanger Heights, Castle Heights, Lake Air and the blocks around Baylor offer older homes and student-leaning rentals. Hewitt and Woodway to the southwest have 1980s and 1990s houses and duplexes that rent to families, hospital staff and Baylor employees, often in strong school zones. Robinson, Bellmead, Lacy Lakeview and Beverly Hills add lower-priced homes with good rent-to-price ratios.
Some investors add properties in Temple, Killeen near Fort Hood or the Bryan-College Station area. Properties in other Texas markets can join the same blanket if the portfolio cash flow works.
Property taxes are often the largest expense after the loan payment on a Waco rental. City, county, school district and community college levies combine into a high rate, and investors do not get homestead exemptions. On a portfolio, that tax line adds up quickly and often decides leverage.
Use the current McLennan County Appraisal District values and the full combined rate for every property. If you recently bought from owner-occupants, expect the next bills to rise.
You can protest appraisal district values each spring. A successful protest lowers the tax line and helps the ratio on a future refinance, but underwriting uses the current bill, not a hoped-for result.
This example is illustrative and not a quote. An investor holds eight rentals worth $1,730,000 together, renting for $13,000 a month. Property taxes total $3,200 a month, about a quarter of the rent, and insurance is $990.
At 75% of combined value the blanket loan is $1,298,000, with estimated principal and interest of about $8,636. The total payment is about $12,826, for a portfolio DSCR of about 1.01x, right at the edge.
At 70% of value the loan is $1,211,000, estimated principal and interest is about $8,057, and the total is about $12,247, for a DSCR of about 1.06x. That margin gives room if one tax bill rises. Note that several of these homes would have been under the $150,000 minimum as separate loans.
| Property | Value | Monthly rent | Monthly taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanger Heights single-family | $210,000 | $1,550 | $390 |
| Hewitt single-family | $235,000 | $1,700 | $440 |
| Hewitt duplex | $280,000 | $2,100 | $520 |
| Woodway single-family | $265,000 | $1,850 | $480 |
| Robinson single-family | $190,000 | $1,450 | $350 |
| Bellmead single-family | $155,000 | $1,250 | $290 |
| Lacy Lakeview single-family | $165,000 | $1,300 | $300 |
| South Waco duplex | $230,000 | $1,800 | $430 |
| Portfolio total | $1,730,000 | $13,000 | $3,200 |
A release clause lets you sell one property and keep the loan on the rest. You pay a release amount set in the loan documents, generally tied to that property's allocated balance plus any premium the program requires.
At 70% leverage in the example, the Bellmead house would carry an allocated balance of about $108,500. After the release, the remaining portfolio still needs to meet the program's DSCR standard, so think about which homes you may sell first.
Hail is the main insurance issue in Waco, and many policies carry percentage wind and hail deductibles. Roof age matters on every property. Homes near the Brazos or Bosque rivers or local creeks may need flood coverage. Every property in the blanket needs a current policy, so gather declarations pages before you apply.
Some owners place the whole portfolio with one carrier to simplify renewals, which also makes it easier to show the lender consistent coverage. Older homes in Bellmead or Lacy Lakeview with aging roofs can be the hardest to insure, so plan replacements where needed before you refinance.
Rentals near Baylor often lease by the bedroom or on academic-year terms, while Hewitt and Woodway houses lease to families on 12-month terms. Both can be part of a blanket. Underwriting uses the leases in place or market rent, so keep lease copies current and organized.
Student rentals turn over every summer, and a few weeks of vacancy between leases is normal. Signed leases for the coming academic year are the strongest support for those rents when the loan is being reviewed.
Separate DSCR loans can work for properties with balances over $150,000, and they keep each property independent. A blanket is often the better fit when several properties are small, when you want one payment, or when you want portfolio pricing. Our comparison guide covers the trade-offs.
If you plan to sell a few properties soon, those may be better left out of the blanket or financed separately, so that release payments do not complicate the loan in its first years.
Send a property schedule with addresses, values, rents, taxes, insurance and loan balances. The financing team will run the portfolio DSCR at a few leverage levels and come back with options. Call (877) 298-1001 or use the form below. For the statewide view, see our Texas blanket loan page.
Yes. The $150,000 minimum applies to the total blanket loan, so lower-priced homes can be included.
Five or more investment properties, each with 1 to 8 units.
Usually property taxes. Investors pay the full rate with no homestead exemption, and Texas rates are high.
Yes. Duplexes through fourplexes, and buildings up to 8 units, can be part of the portfolio.
You pay its release amount and the loan stays on the remaining properties.
Yes, using the leases in place or market rent.
Yes, if they are investment properties and the combined cash flow works.
No. Qualifying is based on the properties' rent.
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