Rental / DSCR in Olympia

Yelm, and it is not close. Gross yields as of July 2026, computed from Zillow's rent and value indexes: Yelm 5.47%, Lacey 5.09%, Olympia 4.49%, Tumwater 4.48%, against Tacoma 4.26% and Seattle 3.15%. All four out-yield Seattle by well over a full point. Zillow publishes no rent series for Tenino, Rainier, Rochester or Bucoda, so we cannot put a yield on those four. These are not cap rates: there is no expense data behind them, and the rent index blends property types against an all-homes value index, so treat the ranking as relative, not exact, and run your own numbers on the specific asset.

About 29% less tax on the same value in Yelm, stacked directly on top of the metro's best gross yield. The City of Yelm inside Yelm School District 2 totals $7.458 per $1,000 of assessed value against Olympia's $10.463, per the Assessor's 2025 levy book, and unincorporated Yelm School District territory runs as low as $5.670. Pair that with Yelm's 5.47% gross yield, the highest in the metro, and Yelm isn't just the highest-yield city here, it's the one that keeps more of that yield after the tax line. One caveat the Assessor's own book calls out: the identical Yelm city parcel sitting in Rainier School District 307 territory instead totals $10.432, so the school district, not the city limit, decides the bill. Confirm the parcel's tax code area before you underwrite the spread.

Yes to both, and they stack. Washington caps most annual rent increases at 7% plus CPI or 10%, whichever is less: 9.683% for calendar 2026. A non-owner-occupied single-family rental is covered once the building is more than 12 years past its first certificate of occupancy; owner-occupancy by a natural person and a 12-year new-construction window are the real exemptions. The state sets a 90-day notice floor, but Olympia's own Rental Housing Code (OMC 5.82.030) requires more: 120 days' notice for any increase over 5% or a cumulative 7% in 12 months, and 180 days for an increase of 10% or more. Olympia also layers its own Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance: a cumulative increase of 7% or more lets the tenant request 2.5 months' rent, payable within 31 days of a written request made within 45 days of the notice. Talk to your attorney or CPA before structuring an increase around any exemption.

Olympia registers, licenses, and inspects every rental unit; Lacey mostly does not. An Olympia rental must be registered before it is rented ($35 per unit per year, expiring December 31), the owner must hold a business license conditioned on a certificate of compliance, and the property is inspected by the city at least once every five years at the owner's expense, with sampling from one unit on a small property up to 20% (capped at 50 units) on a large one. Security deposit plus last month's rent is capped at one month's rent and late fees at $10 a month. Ten minutes away, Lacey only registers complexes of five or more units, at $5 per unit capped at $500 per complex, with no five-year inspection cycle. A registration transfers to a buyer for the unexpired portion of its one-year term, so confirm registration and inspection status before you close on an Olympia unit.

Only in a limited way inside Olympia city limits: the city caps vacation rentals at two per owner. A homestay, a room rented inside a unit where the owner or a permanent resident also lives, is allowed without a city permit. A vacation rental, an entire unit with no resident on site, needs a city short-term rental permit, a business license, and a local contact available 24/7 within 15 miles or Thurston County, and an owner is capped at two such units citywide (operators already running more as of 2021-09-27 are grandfathered). Guest occupancy is capped at 10 adults or 2 adults per bedroom, whichever is less. Statewide, RCW 64.37.050 requires at least $1,000,000 of primary liability coverage for any short-term rental. Do not underwrite an Olympia acquisition as an unlimited STR play; confirm the permit type and the owner's existing unit count first. Lacey, Tumwater, and unincorporated Thurston County's short-term rental rules were not sourced for this page; verify directly with each jurisdiction before assuming the same limits apply.

20% of the purchase price, plus closing costs. We lend up to 80% LTV, so on a $500,000 Olympia purchase that is $400,000 from us and $100,000 from you (500,000 x 80% = 400,000). Olympia's median value ran $536,583 in July 2026, so a standard purchase here sits comfortably inside our $100,000 to $3,000,000 range. Remember that Olympia's gross yield runs 4.49% against Yelm's 5.47%, so where you buy in this metro changes how easily the rent covers the payment at that leverage. Subject to underwriting.

Mostly the rent, with credit as a floor rather than the decision. DSCR starts at a 640 credit score and we underwrite the property's debt service coverage ratio from 0.75, meaning the rent does the qualifying. There are no W-2s, pay stubs, or tax returns in this file. In practice that means an Olympia-area deal turns on the rent the unit actually commands, which is exactly why the yield gap between Yelm at 5.47% and Olympia at 4.49% shows up in what leverage a given property can carry. Subject to underwriting.

Yes, if the loan clears $100,000. We write DSCR from $100,000 to $3,000,000, on a 30-year fixed or a 5, 7, or 10-year ARM. Seven of the eight Thurston County cities we serve run roughly $490,346 in Yelm to $536,583 in Olympia, so a single door anywhere in this band clears the minimum at normal leverage and nothing in the metro's residential stock comes close to the ceiling. Prepayment structures are flexible and are set with the rest of the terms. Subject to underwriting.