Question 1

Is my Orlando-area deal too small for conventional financing?

Accepted Answer

Almost never, at these price points. Mid-tier home values across the metro's named submarkets run from $282,132 in Poinciana up to $569,557 in Winter Garden, with most of the metro clustering $340,000 to $435,000 as of June 2026. That range sits well inside where conventional financing works; what falls outside the box tends to be a very small loan amount or an unusual property type, not a typical single-family rental in Orange, Osceola, Seminole or Lake county. Send us the address and purchase price and we'll tell you in minutes whether conventional or one of our other programs is the better fit.

Question 2

When does conventional beat DSCR on an Orlando rental right now?

Accepted Answer

When your tax returns support the file and you want to lock in against rents that are still climbing. Single-family rents in the Orlando MSA hit a record $2,491 a month in June 2026, up 2.0% year over year, while the metro's mid-tier home value fell 2.7% over the same period. That combination, rising rent against a softer purchase price, is exactly the setup where documented income qualifies you for a lower rate than the property's cash flow alone would support on a DSCR file. If your income doesn't fully document, DSCR still gets the deal closed. We'll run both structures and show you the numbers side by side.

Question 3

What should I budget for taxes and insurance on a conventional purchase here?

Accepted Answer

Budget by jurisdiction, not by metro average. 2025 final millage runs roughly 18 to 19 mills in the City of Orlando, 17.41 in Kissimmee, and as low as 13.85 mills in unincorporated Osceola County. Homeowners insurance including wind averaged $3,610 in Orange County and $2,650 in Lake County as of March 2026, both under coastal Pinellas at $4,063 and far under Broward and Miami-Dade. Both lines feed straight into your qualifying ratio on a conventional file, so price the actual address with the county appraiser's estimator before you commit, not a metro-wide rule of thumb.

Question 4

I'm buying in a CDD community. Does that change what I qualify for?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it doesn't show up on the seller's tax bill the way you'd expect. Community Development Districts under Florida law can levy their own assessments in addition to county property tax, collected on the same tax bill, and they're common in the master-planned and resort communities across Osceola, Lake and the Davenport corridor. That CDD line is debt service, and it does not go away at closing. On a conventional file it belongs in your carry calculation from day one, alongside the base millage, so pull the full tax bill for the specific parcel, not just the county rate, before you underwrite the deal.

Question 5

Does it matter which side of the STR line my conventional rental sits on?

Accepted Answer

Less than it does for a DSCR loan, but it still matters for your exit. Whole-home short-term rental is not permitted in the City of Orlando or in unincorporated Orange County's residential zones; it's licensed and normal in Osceola County's overlay corridors and Kissimmee's short-term-rental zoning districts. A conventional loan qualifies on your documented income, not the property's rental income, so the STR map matters less at closing than it does for a DSCR file. It still matters for what you can do with the property later and for what a future buyer can do with it, so confirm the parcel's zoning and overlay before you count on any rental use, short-term or long.

Question 6

What is a conventional investment property loan?

Accepted Answer

It is standard, competitively priced financing for a non-owner-occupied investment property, the long-term loan you take when your file fits the conventional box. It usually carries a lower rate than a bridge or DSCR loan, in exchange for full documentation.

Question 7

How is it different from a DSCR loan?

Accepted Answer

A conventional loan qualifies on your documented personal income and credit, while a DSCR loan qualifies on the property's rent. Conventional pricing is often lower if you can document your income and you are within the limit on financed properties; DSCR is easier to scale and skips the income docs. We compare both and put you in the one that fits.

Question 8

How much do I need to put down?

Accepted Answer

Plan on roughly 20% to 25% down on an investment-property purchase, with the best pricing at lower leverage and higher credit. Cash-out refinances are typically capped a bit lower than purchases.

Question 9

What credit score do I need?

Accepted Answer

Conventional investment financing generally wants a credit score around 580 or higher, and your rate improves meaningfully as your score and reserves go up. We will tell you up front where your file lands.

Question 10

What can I use it for?

Accepted Answer

Purchases, rate-and-term refinances, and cash-out refinances on non-owner-occupied 1-4 unit investment property. If you will live in the property, that is owner-occupied financing, which we refer to a trusted partner rather than originate here.

Question 11

What documents are required?

Accepted Answer

Because it is fully documented, expect to provide income verification, tax returns, bank statements, and the standard conventional paperwork. If that documentation is a hurdle, our DSCR and bank-statement programs are the no-tax-return alternatives.

Conventional Investment in Orlando

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