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By Robin Simon, President, Harpoon Capital · About · LinkedIn · Author, The Book on DSCR Loans (Available on Amazon)
A DSCR loan for an Airbnb qualifies on what the property can earn, not on your tax returns. The catch is that DSCR Lenders do not agree on what an Airbnb earns. Some count 100% of a short-term rental projection, some haircut AirDNA by 10% or 20%, some count only long-term rent and some will not lend at all without 12 months of bookings. On the same property, those choices can mean a full loan, a much smaller one or a flat no.
DSCR Loans are mortgage loans secured by residential real estate turnkey properties strictly used for a business purpose and underwritten primarily based on the property. For an Airbnb or other short-term rental (“STR”), that means the lender looks at what the property can earn, compares it to the monthly payment, and largely ignores your W-2, tax returns and debt-to-income ratio (“DTI”).
The comparison is the Debt Service Coverage Ratio (“DSCR”), i.e. monthly rent divided by monthly PITIA (principal, interest, taxes, insurance and any HOA dues). A 1.00x DSCR means the rent exactly covers the payment; 1.25x means rent runs 25% above it. The formula is simple. The hard part on an Airbnb is the top number, because a short-term rental does not come with a signed 12-month lease that tells the lender what it earns.
Every DSCR Lender has to pick a number for “rent” on a short-term rental, and they do not all pick the same one. These are the methods investors typically run into:
| Rent Method | How It Works | What It Means for You |
|---|---|---|
| 100% of STR analysis or projections | A third-party STR analysis (or AirDNA) is counted in full | The highest qualifying rent; available on select programs |
| 90% of AirDNA | AirDNA’s projected revenue with a 10% haircut | Slightly lower DSCR; often paired with LTV limits |
| 80% of AirDNA | AirDNA with a 20% haircut, the most common policy | Noticeably lower DSCR; some lenders also cut max LTV |
| Long-term market rent only | Appraiser’s 1007 rent, as if leased for 12 months | Usually far below STR income; can sink the deal |
| 12 months of actuals (“TTM”) | Trailing twelve months of real booking history | Great on a refinance; impossible on a new purchase |
Note that the haircut is not a judgment about your property. Lenders apply it across the board because AirDNA is a projection, and projections have a way of looking better on paper than on the calendar. For the full lender-by-lender picture, see our Guide chapter How DSCR Lenders Differ When It Comes to STR Loans.
In October 2026, Harpoon Capital funded a $652,500 Acquisition DSCR Loan on a new-construction, 5-bedroom, 5-bath STR near Broken Bow Lake in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. The purchase price was $870,000, the loan was 75.0% LTV and the rate was 6.750%. The property had never been rented, so there was no booking history to lean on.
A $652,500 loan over 30 years at 6.750% is about $4,232 a month in principal and interest. Add estimated property taxes of about $617 a month, insurance of about $375 a month and the $25 monthly HOA, and PITIA comes to roughly $5,249.
A third-party STR analysis, built from six nearby STR comps, projected $134,028 a year ($11,169 a month). AirDNA projected about $127,100 a year. There were no long-term rentals in the area to compare, which is typical in a market where nearly every comparable home is rented by the night.
| Rent Method | Qualifying Rent | Est. DSCR |
|---|---|---|
| Harpoon Capital: 100% of the third-party STR analysisSelect Programs | $11,169/mo | 2.13x |
| 90% of AirDNA | $9,532/mo | 1.82x |
| 80% of AirDNA | $8,473/mo | 1.61x |
| Long-term market rent only | About $2,500/mo | 0.48x |
| 12 months of STR actuals required | No history yet | No loan |
Taxes and insurance above are estimates, AirDNA was pulled in October 2026, and the long-term rent is our estimate since there were no long-term rentals nearby to compare.
On this particular property, the AirDNA haircuts still clear 1.00x comfortably, so a 90% or 80% lender could likely do the loan, although some of them would also trim the maximum LTV. The real gap is at the bottom of the table. A lender that only counts long-term rent would stop near $229,000 at a 1.00x DSCR (about 26% LTV), which turns a 25% down payment into roughly 74% down. A lender that requires 12 months of actuals simply cannot make the loan, because a brand-new STR has no 12 months to show.
Simply put: on a new Airbnb purchase, the rent method matters more than the rate.
Harpoon Capital has some of the most flexible STR qualification options in DSCR lending. On select programs:
Terms vary by property, market and borrower, so treat these as the ceiling rather than the default. Current program terms are on our DSCR Loan Program page.
Our free DSCR Loan Calculator runs the same math a DSCR Lender uses, with no personal info and no credit pull. To test an Airbnb:
If the 100% number works and the haircut number does not, that is exactly the kind of deal to send us for a quote.
Yes. On a purchase, most STR-friendly DSCR Lenders qualify on projected income from AirDNA or a third-party STR analysis, since a new owner has no history to show. Some lenders require 12 months of actuals even on purchases, which rules out a brand-new STR, so ask which rent a lender will use before you apply.
Most do, but usually with a haircut of 10% to 20%. On select programs, Harpoon Capital can use 100% of AirDNA or a third-party STR analysis with no haircut.
It depends on the program. At 1.00x and up you qualify on standard programs; below that, select programs still lend at lower maximum LTVs. On an STR, the rent method usually moves the ratio far more than the rate does, as the Broken Bow example shows.
Typically 20% to 25% down, with select programs as low as 15% down (85.0% LTV) on purchases when the property covers its payment. Rural locations, condotels and lower ratios can reduce the maximum LTV.
No. A second home loan is a consumer loan for a home you personally use, and it generally restricts full-time renting. A DSCR Loan is a business-purpose loan made for investment properties, which is why it is the go-to option for a full-time Airbnb.
Two lenders can quote the same rate on the same Airbnb and still be a $400,000 loan apart, simply because one counts STR income and the other counts long-term rent. Before you shop rates, ask each lender which rent they will use, then plug both numbers into the calculator. It is a lot cheaper to find out on a calculator than at the closing table!
Ask each lender which rent they will use, then plug both numbers into our DSCR Loan Calculator. When you are ready, get same-day rate and terms through our two-minute quote form.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, investment or financial advice. Loan terms, programs and eligibility vary by property, market and borrower and are subject to change. Harpoon Capital encourages investors to conduct independent due diligence before making any real estate investment decision.
About the author. Robin Simon, CPA (TX #101559), NMLS #2718614, is the President of Harpoon Capital, a DSCR lender specializing in short-term rental loans, and of GAM Hospitality, a short-term and medium-term rental operator in Austin, Texas. He is the author of The Book on DSCR Loans: A Complete Guide For Real Estate Investors and Mortgage Professionals, a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, and a longtime BiggerPockets contributor.
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