DSCR calculator

DSCR, or debt service coverage ratio, answers a lender-shaped question: does this rental’s net operating income cover the mortgage? Divide annual NOI by annual debt service. Many DSCR loans look for 1.25 or higher; 1.0 means the property only breaks even on the note after operating costs. Below 1.0, rent is not carrying the loan even before you pay yourself.

This calculator uses the same rounding as Rental Prop Finder’s in-app analysis. Enter purchase price, monthly rent, down payment, rate, term, vacancy, and typical operating percentages. Property tax and insurance default to a conservative worked example so you can see a complete ratio on first load without signing in. Change one input at a time so you can tell whether rent, leverage, or expenses are doing the damage.

NOI here is annual rent minus vacancy, management, maintenance, tax, and insurance. The mortgage is annualized separately as debt service. That split is why DSCR can look healthy while cash-on-cash is weak, or the reverse: you can cover the note and still earn a thin return on the check you wrote at closing.

Read the result as a buy-or-pass screen, not a loan commitment. If DSCR is thin, raise rent assumptions only with comps, cut leverage, or pass. Do not “fix” the ratio by zeroing vacancy. When the ratio looks durable, start a 14-day trial and save the address so cash flow, cap rate, and DSCR live on one deal card instead of a one-off spreadsheet.

Other tools: Cap rate calculator · Cash-on-cash calculator · Cash flow calculator · Rental property calculator

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