Can you use a DSCR loan on an Airbnb or short-term rental?
Yes, when the property is non-owner-occupied and the use is business-purpose. A short-term rental can still be an investor file. The desk questions are how income is documented and whether local or HOA rules let the use continue.
It is not a consumer vacation-home loan. If you stay in the property, occupancy is the fight. This desk does not desk primary residences.
How is STR income usually documented?
Trailing actuals from the channel, market comps, or a hybrid — whichever the capital source will accept. Many programs haircut short-term gross. Some want 12 months of in-place history. None of that is decided by this website.
We do not scrape Airbnb or VRBO. The calculator STR toggle marks rent as a projection (rent_is_projection=yes). You still type the monthly number. Lender DSCR remains rent ÷ PITIA (or ITIA if interest-only). For the conversion page, see DSCR for short-term rentals.
What we ask first
- In-place channel history (12 months when you have it)
- Nightly vs. mid-term mix
- HOA / municipal STR restrictions
- Whether you will keep STR or convert to long-term
What this page is not
It is not a pricing engine and not a claim that STR income will be used as submitted. The capital source sets the income method.
What local and HOA rules matter?
Municipal licensing, night caps, owner-occupancy rules, and HOA short-term bans. If the use is not allowed, the rent story does not matter. Bring the actual restriction, not a hope that enforcement is loose.
Mid-term (30+ day) can be a different overlay than nightly. If you are converting from nightly to mid-term to clear a rule, say that on the call. Do not hide it in the rent number.
How should you run STR numbers on the calculator?
Switch occupancy to STR (or open the calculator with STR already on), enter a monthly rent you can defend, and keep vacancy / maintenance / PM in the investor view. Those percentages do not change lender DSCR. They are there so you can see cash flow without mixing it into the qualification ratio.
See what DSCR is for the formula. Typical requirements still apply: occupancy, entity, reserves, credit, experience. STR does not skip them.
What if you convert the property to long-term?
Then the file is an LTR rent story — leases or market rent — not trailing nightly actuals. Say which hold you actually intend. Capital sources underwrite the use you will have after close, not the listing photos from last summer.
If you want the file mapped, book a 30-minute call with the address, the channel history you have, and the hold plan — or start on the STR landing.