Rental / DSCR in Boulder

Yes, and this changed only recently. Boulder raised its unrelated-occupant limit from three to five in August 2023, the state then preempted familial-relationship occupancy limits statewide effective July 2024, and Boulder City Council repealed its own occupancy limits outright on March 6, 2025. The city still enforces International Property Maintenance Code minimums on any unit, a bedroom of at least 70 square feet and 50 square feet per occupant, so a per-bedroom pro forma has to pencil against those room sizes, not against the old unrelated-persons cap. The University of Colorado Boulder enrolled 38,808 students in fall 2025, roughly a third of the city's population, which is the tenant base this now applies to.

Because the citywide figure is dragged down by student condos and apartments, not by houses. As of June 2026, Boulder metro's single-family rent index ran $3,156 a month, up 2.6% year over year, against $2,249 for the blended all-property index, up 1.2%. That is a gross yield of about 5.3% on detached stock versus 3.8% on the blended number. A DSCR file underwritten off the blended index can decline a detached house that actually carries its payment. Run the property's own numbers with the DSCR calculator before assuming the metro average applies.

A rental license, a private inspection, and a SmartRegs energy certification, none of which transfer with the sale. Every rental unit in the city needs a license under Boulder Revised Code title 10 chapter 3, good for four years, inspected by a privately licensed inspector on the city's list at licensing, at renewal, and again after any ownership transfer. Separately, SmartRegs requires the unit to score 100 energy efficiency points (plus 2 water points) or carry a HERS rating of 120 or less before it can be legally rented, with penalties running $150 to $500 for a first violation and up to $1,000 for a third. Ask the seller for the current license and SmartRegs documentation before you close, because a Boulder license does not carry over to a buyer and neither does SmartRegs compliance history.

Not inside Boulder city limits, unless you plan to live there. Boulder's short-term rental license requires the unit be the owner's principal residence, defined as where the owner resides more than half the year; a tenant subletting short-term is expressly called out as an illegal use of the property. A pure investment property in the City of Boulder cannot legally carry short-term income. Longmont and unincorporated Boulder County run separate licensing regimes that do allow a non-owner-occupied short-term rental, each with its own caps: Longmont limits a resident to one investment short-term rental and one per block face in some residential zones, and the county's Vacation Rental Licence is numerically capped by census county division, with none available in the Plains division. Confirm which jurisdiction the property sits in before underwriting nightly income.

Because the tax bill follows the tax area, not the town. Boulder County has 354 tax areas with certified levies from 70.836 to 199.108 mills. Inside the City of Boulder the range is narrow, 86.884 to 105.141. Superior is the extreme case: town-level metro districts push some tax areas to 199.108 mills, so an identical $820,381 house can owe about $5,287 a year in the town's lowest tax area and about $10,525 in its highest, as of the 2024 abstract of assessment. Ask which tax area a specific parcel sits in, not just which town, before you size a DSCR payment.

20% at a minimum. We go up to 80% LTV, so on a $956,462 Boulder mid-tier home that is up to $765,170 from us and $191,292 from you (956,462 x 80% = 765,170). In Boulder, the SFR-versus-blended rent gap above often decides your usable leverage before the down payment does: underwrite to the detached rent, not the blended index, and the ratio moves with it. Subject to underwriting.

A DSCR (debt service coverage ratio) loan qualifies on the property's rental income instead of your personal income, so there are no W-2s or tax returns required. We compare the rent, from a signed lease or the appraiser's market-rent estimate, against the monthly payment. A DSCR of 1.00 means the rent covers the payment, and we lend with a DSCR as low as 0.75.

Our rental program starts around 5.50% interest-only, with 30-year fixed and 5/7/10-year ARM options, for a single property or a whole portfolio. The lowest pricing goes to strong credit, lower leverage, and a DSCR above 1.20; your quote depends on the file and is subject to underwriting.

We finance up to 80% loan-to-value on a purchase, with rate-and-term and cash-out refinances available, on loan amounts from $100K to $3M. Cash-out leverage is typically a little lower than purchase. The property's cash flow and your credit set your final leverage.

We start at 640, and the best pricing goes to strong credit. Because the loan qualifies on the asset, your score affects your rate and leverage more than whether you are approved.

Yes, short-term rentals are considered. We can underwrite using market or projected rents, and the property still needs to meet our DSCR. Tell us how the property is operated so we can structure it correctly.

Long-term rental loans usually carry a prepayment penalty, commonly a step-down such as 5/4/3/2/1. We offer flexible prepay structures, including buying down to a shorter penalty for a slightly higher rate, and we will lay out the options on your term sheet.