Conventional investment property loans, statewide in Washington.
Standard, competitively priced financing for non-owner-occupied investment property when your file fits the box. Often the lowest-cost option for a long-term hold, in exchange for full documentation. In Washington the long-hold math turns on property tax at full value, a statewide rent cap, and graduated excise tax on the eventual sale. We'll compare it against DSCR so you take the structure that fits; business-purpose only, subject to underwriting.
Typical figures, subject to underwriting and market conditions. Not a commitment to lend.
How it works
For investors who qualify conventionally, this is usually the lowest-cost long-term money on a buy-and-hold. We help you weigh it against our DSCR and bank-statement programs so the loan matches your file and your goals.
What does Washington property tax do to a documented-income file?
It sits in your debt-to-income and it does not stop moving. RCW 84.40.030(1) requires property to be valued at 100% of its true and fair value, and Washington has no assessment-increase cap and no general homestead exemption, so an investor and an owner-occupant face the same standard on the same parcel. The 1% figure people cite is a levy limit on taxing districts, not a cap on your bill: RCW 84.55.010 restricts a district's regular levy growth to the lesser of 101% or 100% plus inflation under RCW 84.55.005(2), and an individual bill can still rise faster when values shift or voters approve levies. If a valuation looks wrong, petition the county board of equalization by July 1 of the assessment year, or within 30 days of the value-change notice, or within a county-set window of up to 60 days, whichever is later. Confirm your county's window. Carry varies by market, so check the metro page, for example Yakima or Olympia.
Does the Washington rent cap limit the income I can document over time?
Yes, on a covered tenancy, and that is the point most long-hold models miss. RCW 59.18.700 bars any increase in the first 12 months of a tenancy and caps later increases at 7% plus CPI or 10%, whichever is less. Commerce publishes the number annually: 9.683% for calendar 2026 and 10% for calendar 2027, using Seattle-area June-over-June CPI for the whole state. Only two exemptions really reach an investor: a building within 12 years of its first certificate of occupancy, and vacancy decontrol, which lets you reset rent freely once a tenant leaves. There is also a 5% cap on the rent difference you may charge for the same unit based on lease type. Cities cannot set their own caps under RCW 35.21.830, but they can require longer notice. Subject to underwriting.
How do Washington state taxes affect a long-term investment hold?
Favourably today, with one change scheduled and litigated. There is no income tax on income earned today, no corporate income tax, and no capital gains excise tax on real estate transferred by deed under RCW 82.87.050(1). Rents also sit outside the business and occupation tax under RCW 82.04.390 and WAC 458-20-118. The scheduled change is SB 6346, signed in 2026, which imposes 9.9% on Washington income above a $1,000,000 standard deduction for tax years beginning January 1, 2028, expressly reaching pass-through and rental income, with a constitutional challenge pending. One structural nuance: selling an interest in an entity that owns real estate is only partly exempt from the capital gains tax under RCW 82.87.050(2), so selling the LLC is not the same as selling the deed. Take all of it to a Washington CPA.
What should I know about the eventual sale before I take conventional debt?
Excise tax is graduated, so a long hold in an appreciating market pays a higher blended rate on exit. The state rates are 1.10% up to $525,000, 1.28% to $1,525,000, 2.75% to $3,025,000, and 3.00% above, plus a $5 state technology fee per transfer, with a possible 0.25% local levy and another 0.25% in Growth Management Act jurisdictions. On a $700,000 sale in a full 0.50% city: $5,775 on the first $525,000 plus $2,240 on the next $175,000 gives $8,015 of state REET, plus $3,500 local, about $11,515. Thresholds readjust every fourth year and 2026 is an adjustment year, so verify DOR before relying on them for a later sale. Who bears REET at closing is a contract question for your attorney; we have not verified the custom.
Who closes a conventional investment loan in Washington?
A licensed escrow company, supervised by a licensed escrow officer. Escrow agents are licensed under chapter 18.44 RCW, and RCW 18.44.071 requires a licensed escrow officer to supervise every escrow transaction. Closing documents are usually prepared by Limited Practice Officers credentialed by the Washington Supreme Court under Admission to Practice Rule 12. Escrow agents carry a $1 million fidelity bond, a $50,000 errors-and-omissions minimum, and a $10,000 surety bond. Full-documentation loans move on the strength of the paperwork, so pick an escrow company that has handled the document set before and ask for a written fee estimate. We will not publish who customarily pays which closing item in Washington, because we have not verified it.
What credit score do I need for a Washington conventional investment loan?
580 is the floor on this program. It is the lowest minimum score of anything we offer that prices off credit, and it is paired with documented income, which is the trade. At the floor, expect lower leverage rather than a decline, and there is no hard credit pull to open a file. If documenting income is the problem rather than the score, look at DSCR or a bank statement loan instead. Subject to underwriting.
How much do I have to put down on a Washington conventional investment purchase?
20% at maximum leverage. We go up to 80% LTV, so on a $500,000 purchase that is $400,000 from us and $100,000 from you (500,000 x 80% = 400,000), before closing costs and reserves. This is a non-owner-occupied program, so none of the owner-occupant treatment in Washington law, including the small-property carve-outs from the rent cap, applies to you. Subject to underwriting.
More Conventional Investment questions, answered on the program page
Local rules move. Every tax rate, fee, ordinance and market figure here comes from a primary source and carries the date we read it, and we correct them as the rules change. Where a number is mid-change or we could not verify it, we say so rather than guess. Before you commit a budget, confirm anything that drives it with the city or county, and talk to your attorney or CPA on questions of law or tax.
Published by USA Mortgage Funding, LLC, NMLS #152588. Researched from primary sources by our team, drafted with AI assistance, and every figure checked against its source before publishing. Where an answer rests on a public record, that record is linked under it. Figures read on 2026-08-12.
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