California
DSCR Loans in California
Qualify the rental on its rent, not your income. I am licensed in California and I shop this across 175+ lenders.
A DSCR loan qualifies the property, not you. No tax returns, no W-2s, no debt-to-income calculation. The lender divides the rent by the payment. If the rent covers it, the file works.
The math, with California numbers
At the California median ZIP value of $694,777, a 20% down purchase is a loan near $555,821. Rents around that price point commonly run near $4,168 a month.
DSCR is rent divided by PITIA — principal, interest, taxes, insurance and any HOA. A ratio of 1.00 means the rent exactly covers the payment. Most lenders want 1.00 to 1.25. Some will go below 1.00 at a higher rate and more money down, which is how deals get done in expensive markets.
This is the hard part in California. At these prices, rents often do not cover the payment at 20% down, so investors put 25-30% down to force the ratio up, or use a lender that writes below 1.00.
Where the numbers work
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (median $946,324) · San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (median $1,218,621) · Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (median $525,444) · Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom (median $556,682)
The cheaper the metro, the easier the ratio. That is the whole game.
What you need
Credit around 620 and up, 20% down minimum and usually more, a lease or a market rent appraisal, and reserves. The property can sit in an LLC, which most banks will not do. No limit on how many you own, which is the other thing banks cap.
Where this sits in California
Median ZIP value across California is $694,777 across 1543 ZIP codes. The cheaper tenth of ZIPs run near $311,277 and the top tenth near $1,568,954. That spread matters: the same program behaves very differently at $311,277 than it does at $1,568,954.
| Largest metro | Median value | ZIP codes |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | $946,324 | 360 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | $1,218,621 | 166 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | $525,444 | 147 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | $556,682 | 116 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | $901,942 | 95 |
Zillow public home value index, as of 2026-08-31. Market data, not an appraisal of your property and not a quote.
More detail on the program itself is on my dscr loans page, and the rest of what I write in the state is on the California mortgage broker page.
Get a free rate quote.
No application. No credit pull. A written comparison across 175+ lenders, with the APR on each.
Let's look at your numbers
Questions people ask
Do you write dscr loans in California?
Yes. I am licensed in California under NMLS #487617 and I shop this program across 175+ lenders rather than offering one lender's version of it.
What is the median home value in California?
About $694,777 across 1543 ZIP codes, from Zillow's public home value index as of 2026-08-31. Your own ZIP may be well above or below that.
How do I start?
Send me your numbers or book fifteen minutes. No credit is pulled to start and there is no application to get a comparison.
Do I need to live in California to use this?
No. The property has to be in a state I am licensed in. Where you live does not matter, and a good share of my California files are for people who live somewhere else.
How many lenders do you actually compare?
175+. A bank can only offer its own product, so if you do not fit it you hear no. I put the ones that fit side by side with the APR on each, and if your current deal already wins I will tell you.
What does it cost to talk to you?
Nothing. I am paid when a loan closes and the compensation is disclosed on your Loan Estimate. If the answer is to keep what you have, it cost you fifteen minutes.
Let’s look at your numbers
Fifteen minutes. Your real numbers. No pressure.
Call or text my cell, or book a time. You’ll get a written comparison with real terms and an APR on every option, and if your current deal already wins, I’ll tell you.