Rental / DSCR in Miami

The highest in Florida, alongside one of the steepest expense stacks in the state. Zillow's single-family rent index for the Miami metro read $3,461 a month in June 2026, up 1.9% year over year, roughly 40% above Tampa and Orlando on the same June 2026 vintage. The all-property-types index read $2,695, up 1.2%. Those are metro indices, not a read on your block, and they include a condo mix that rents very differently from a house. Underwrite the signed lease or a market rent you can defend for the specific address, then run it against that address's tax and insurance bill in the DSCR calculator.

Because the building can go ineligible before the rent roll ever matters. Florida's milestone inspection law requires condo and co-op buildings of three habitable stories or more to be inspected by December 31 of the year they turn 30, and Miami-Dade separately runs its own recertification under section 8-11(f) of the county code that hits coastal buildings built in 1998 or later at 25 years and inland buildings built in 1993 or later at 30. Since a 2024 change, associations can no longer waive reserves for structural integrity reserve study items, which is why an inspection finding now turns into a special assessment instead of getting voted away. Under Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, a project is ineligible for a failed jurisdictional inspection or unfunded repairs over $10,000 per unit due within 12 months. That chain is a real driver behind Miami MSA condo values falling 6.2% year over year (Aventura down 7.9%) while single-family sits at an all-time high on Case-Shiller. Ask for the building's inspection and reserve status before you underwrite a condo DSCR file, and see conventional investment financing for how a warrantable, unaffected building compares.

Statewide, yes, but Miami-Dade adopted its own version, which is why the number still applies here. The original 2022 law set 25 years for buildings within three miles of the coast; SB 154, signed June 9, 2023, deleted that statewide trigger and made 30 years the default everywhere, leaving 25 years as an option a local enforcement agency may adopt for local conditions. Miami-Dade is one of the counties that adopted a 25-year coastal trigger in its own section 8-11(f) recertification programme, on top of the state's 30-year milestone inspection for condo and co-op buildings. So a coastal Miami-Dade condo can face two inspection clocks, the state's at 30 years and the county's at 25. Confirm which clock applies to a specific building before quoting DSCR terms on its rental income.

At the high-cost end of the highest-cost state, and flood is becoming close to mandatory. As of March 2026, the average Miami-Dade homeowners premium including wind was $5,975, versus $3,610 in Orange County (Orlando) and $2,650 in Lake County. A condo unit owner policy averages $2,801 in Miami-Dade against $1,295 in Orange County, more than double. Citizens Property Insurance now requires flood coverage on wind policies for any home outside a flood hazard area with $400,000 or more in dwelling replacement cost, effective January 1, 2026, expanding to every Citizens wind policy regardless of value on January 1, 2027. Miami-Dade's mid-tier single-family value is $569,830, so most investment houses in this county already clear that threshold. Get a bound quote on the specific address, including flood, before we lock the DSCR ratio.

Because millage runs backwards from price here. As a non-homestead owner, the highest-value submarkets carry the lowest 2025 millage: Key Biscayne 15.51 mills, Pinecrest 17.53, Coral Gables 18.19. The lower-priced submarkets carry the highest: Opa-locka 24.00 mills, Miami Gardens 22.39, North Miami 22.14. The City of Miami itself sits at 19.99 mills and unincorporated Miami-Dade at 16.93. An investor pays the non-homestead assessment cap, which resets to full market value on purchase, never the 3% homestead cap a prior owner-occupant may have enjoyed, so a seller's tax bill will understate what you'll actually owe. Run the actual parcel's city and millage before penciling the deal.

Only where the parcel and city allow it, and Miami-Dade runs three different regimes. Unincorporated Miami-Dade licenses vacation rentals under section 33-28 of the county code with a Certificate of Use required before listing, an occupancy cap of two people per bedroom plus two more up to 12 overnight, and a rule that in Estate or Low Density residential areas the responsible party must reside in the home more than six months a year, which rules out an absentee investor entirely in those zones. Miami Beach defines short-term as less than six months and one day and bars it in all single-family homes and many multifamily zoning districts; its litigated fine schedule was capped by Florida's statutory limits of $1,000 per day for a first violation and $5,000 for a repeat one in City of Miami Beach v. Nichols (Fla. 3d DCA, 2020). City of Miami's own STR rules turn on the parcel's Miami 21 transect zone and need to be confirmed directly with the city. Transient taxes also differ: 6% in most of the county, but 3% county plus a 4% city resort tax in Miami Beach. Tell us the municipality, the zoning category, and the licensing status before we underwrite nightly income. See the DSCR program terms for how STR income factors into the loan once that's confirmed.

Plan on at least 20% of the price. Leverage runs up to 80% LTV, so on a $550,000 Miami-Dade rental that is up to $440,000 from us and $110,000 from you (550,000 x 80% = 440,000). Two local lines can push the real requirement higher: the average homeowners premium here is $5,975 a year including wind, and non-homestead millage runs from 15.51 mills in Key Biscayne to 24.00 in Opa-locka. Both land inside the DSCR calculation, so a thin down payment on a high-millage parcel can fail the ratio even where the rent looks strong. Subject to underwriting.

We go down to a 0.75 DSCR. That tier matters here because Miami-Dade stacks a $5,975 average homeowners premium and millage as high as 24.00 mills onto the expense side, and that is what usually drags a Miami file under 1.0, not weak rent. Rents are the highest in Florida, $3,461 a month on the metro single-family index in June 2026, so plenty of files clear 1.0 on their own. Where yours does not, the sub-1.0 tier exists. Credit starts at 640 on this program and leverage runs up to 80% LTV. Subject to underwriting.

$100,000 to $3,000,000 on a single property. Miami-Dade's mid-tier single-family value is $569,830, so the floor is rarely the issue in this county; the ceiling is what a waterfront or luxury-adjacent parcel hits first. Term options run 30-year fixed or a 5, 7, or 10-year ARM, with flexible prepay structures. If you are financing five or more doors at once, a portfolio loan writes the whole set under one loan instead of one at a time. Subject to underwriting.