Question 1

How is my rental assessed differently from an owner's homestead?

Accepted Answer

You get the 10% cap, not the 3% one. Florida caps annual assessment increases on homesteaded property at 3% or CPI, whichever is lower, under Save Our Homes. Everything an investor owns is non-homestead and carries a 10% annual cap instead, from the 2008 amendment that first applied in 2009. The 10% cap applies automatically, with no application to file. It is real protection once you own the property, but it is a looser ceiling than a homesteaded owner has, so model your assessed value climbing faster than the house next door.

Question 2

Why does the tax bill jump the year after I buy?

Accepted Answer

Because the non-homestead cap resets on change of ownership. Whatever capped basis the seller built up does not carry over to you. Your first full tax year is typically assessed at market value, which is why the bill you see during diligence systematically understates what you'll actually pay. On a conventional file that escrow feeds straight into your qualifying ratios, so getting it wrong at the start is what kills the loan two weeks in. Underwrite to a market-value assessment, and run the address through the county property appraiser's own estimator before you commit.

Question 3

Does Hillsborough, Pinellas or Pasco give me the cheaper carry?

Accepted Answer

On insurance, yes, and that's the gap you can document. We don't publish a metro millage rate here, because the Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco figures in circulation are secondary and we couldn't verify them against the property appraisers. Pull the address-level estimate from the county property appraiser instead. The county spread you can stand behind is insurance: as of March 2026 the state regulator put the average homeowners premium including wind at $4,063 in Pinellas, $3,525 in Hillsborough and $2,756 in Pasco. That roughly $1,300 Pinellas-to-Pasco difference is more than half a month's rent on a typical $2,000 rental, before flood. It is why a Clearwater deal and a same-priced Wesley Chapel deal don't underwrite the same.

Question 4

Is Florida insurance still going up on me?

Accepted Answer

No. As of mid-2026 it's coming down, off the highest base in the country. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reported the average homeowners premium including wind decreased in 51 of 67 counties between its January 2026 and July 2026 reports, 21 new companies have been approved to write residential property since the 2022-23 reforms, and Florida domestic property insurers ran an 83% combined ratio in 2025, the lowest in more than a decade. Citizens is down to 293,465 policies in force as of June 5, 2026, its lowest in 25 years, against roughly 1.2 million at the end of 2022, and its approved 2026 cuts of 8.8% on homeowners multiperil and 5.5% on wind-only took effect July 1, 2026. Budget from a real bound quote, not from last year's headlines, because that premium is part of your qualifying payment.

Question 5

What Florida-specific closing costs should I budget on a purchase?

Accepted Answer

Documentary stamps, and they hit the note as well as the deed. Florida charges 70 cents per $100 of consideration on the deed in every county except Miami-Dade, and 35 cents per $100 on the note and mortgage. Deed consideration expressly includes the amount of any mortgage or other encumbrance, assumed or not. The statute puts deed stamps on the purchaser, but in most Florida counties the seller pays them by contract, so your purchase agreement controls what you actually write a check for at closing. Florida also imposes a nonrecurring intangible tax on mortgages, so expect it as a line item. Have closing counsel confirm the exact figures for your transaction.

Question 6

Conventional or DSCR for a Tampa rental right now?

Accepted Answer

If your returns support the file, conventional is usually the cheaper hold, and the rent picture here rewards buying a house. Single-family rent in the metro was $2,426 a month in June 2026, up 1.1% year over year, while the all-property-types index was $2,020 and down 0.7%. That gap is the apartment delivery wave showing up, and a borrower buying a single-family rental isn't exposed to it the same way. Prices have cooled and flattened rather than fallen: the metro median list price was $397,450 in July 2026, down 4.2% from a year earlier, with 72 median days on market. Conventional financing qualifies on you and generally prices lowest; a DSCR loan qualifies on the property when your documentation doesn't fit. Send us the address and both sets of numbers and we'll show you the two side by side.

Question 7

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 8

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 9

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 10

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 11

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 12

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.

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