Question 1

Why does insurance matter more to a Palm Beach County DSCR deal than a Miami or Fort Lauderdale one?

Accepted Answer

Because Palm Beach County is the most expensive mainland county in Florida to insure a house, ahead of both of its southern neighbors. As of March 31, 2026, the average homeowners premium including wind ran $6,323 in Palm Beach County, against $6,136 in Broward and $5,975 in Miami-Dade; statewide, only Monroe County (the Keys) runs higher. Against an inland county like Orange at $3,610, that is roughly $2,713 a year of extra carry on an otherwise similar house, and the full $6,323 premium eats more than two months of rent on a $2,400-a-month unit. Get a bound insurance quote on the actual parcel before we lock your DSCR ratio, not a metro-average guess.

Question 2

Is a Palm Beach County condo a good DSCR buy right now?

Accepted Answer

Only if you underwrite the association, not just the unit. The county's condo value index is down 5.8% year over year and 17.0% off its November 2023 peak (Zillow ZHVI, June 2026), while single-family is down just 0.6% over the same year, and the split tracks straight to post-Surfside law: buildings of three or more habitable stories must complete a milestone inspection by 30 years of age (or 25, at a local building department's option) and a structural integrity reserve study every 10 years, and associations can no longer vote to underfund reserves on those items. The oldest garden-condo stock has been hit hardest: Century Village is down 15.1% year over year, Palm Springs 10.3%, Delray Beach condo 9.6%. A unit that looks cheap against its 2023 peak can still be behind on inspections or facing a special assessment, and that commonly makes it non-warrantable for agency financing, which is exactly the gap a DSCR loan fills. If you're buying to rehab an older unit before you hold it long-term, our fix and flip loan can bridge the purchase.

Question 3

What is the real property tax rate on a Palm Beach County rental, not the homestead number I keep seeing?

Accepted Answer

Ignore the 1.02% figure you'll find online: that blends homesteaded property carrying decades of Save Our Homes caps, and an investor doesn't get that cap. Florida resets the assessment cap on change of ownership and only gives an investor the 10% non-homestead cap, not the homestead 3% cap. On the county's 2025 adopted millage, that works out to roughly 1.42% of assessed value in Royal Palm Beach or Jupiter, 1.59% in Boca Raton, 2.04% in West Palm Beach, and 2.22% in Mangonia Park, before any fire-rescue or library district adders. Talk to your CPA about your specific position, but budget off the mill rate for your municipality, not the seller's tax bill.

Question 4

Are Palm Beach County rents strong enough to carry a DSCR loan?

Accepted Answer

Rent is not the problem in this county; carry is. The county-wide rent index (all property types) hit $2,662 a month in June 2026, up 2.5% year over year, and submarket rents are climbing 2 to 4% across working areas like West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens while home values are flat to slightly down. That combination widens the yield on a purchase made today. What offsets it is the insurance line above and a millage stack that runs from about 14.7 mills in Wellington to over 20 mills in West Palm Beach. A Palm Beach County DSCR file rarely fails on rent. It fails on carry, so run the actual insurance quote and tax bill through the DSCR calculator before you assume the deal pencils.

Question 5

Can I count short-term rental income on a West Palm Beach DSCR loan?

Accepted Answer

Only after you confirm the parcel's zoning, and in the City of West Palm Beach that answer is usually no. Multiple 2026 legal sources report a six-month-and-one-day minimum rental term for most residential property inside the city, with shorter stays permitted only in transient lodging zoning, certain commercial districts, or approved mixed-use developments. We will not quote a code section we could not verify in the city's own published code, so confirm zoning with the city planning department before you underwrite nightly income. Countywide, Palm Beach County charges a 6% tourist development tax on rentals of six months or less, and the county tax collector is explicit that platforms like Airbnb do not remit it for you; the host has to register and file. Palm Beach County has 39 municipalities, each frozen at whatever short-term-rental ordinance it had adopted by June 1, 2011 under Florida's state preemption, so a rule that applies in one town does not carry to the next one.

Question 6

Palm Beach County home values range from $210,000 in the Glades to over $2 million on the island. How does that affect DSCR underwriting?

Accepted Answer

It means a countywide average tells you nothing; we underwrite the submarket. June 2026 home values (Zillow ZHVI) run $2,145,595 in the town of Palm Beach against $210,145 in Pahokee, a 10-to-1 spread inside one county, with West Palm Beach at $403,887, Boca Raton at $575,479, and Jupiter at $702,538 in between. Rents follow the same pattern, from roughly $2,067 in Greenacres to $2,940 in Boca Raton on the working end of the map, before the island's luxury rents. If you're building a rental portfolio across several of these submarkets rather than one address, our portfolio loan lets you finance them under one facility instead of qualifying each deal separately.

Question 7

What is a DSCR loan, and how do I qualify without tax returns?

Accepted Answer

A DSCR (debt service coverage ratio) loan qualifies on the property's rental income instead of your personal income, so there are no W-2s or tax returns required. We compare the rent, from a signed lease or the appraiser's market-rent estimate, against the monthly payment. A DSCR of 1.00 means the rent covers the payment, and we lend with a DSCR as low as 0.75.

Question 8

What rate and terms can I get on a rental loan?

Accepted Answer

Our rental program starts around 5.50% interest-only, with 30-year fixed and 5/7/10-year ARM options, for a single property or a whole portfolio. The lowest pricing goes to strong credit, lower leverage, and a DSCR above 1.20; your quote depends on the file and is subject to underwriting.

Question 9

How much can I borrow, and what is the maximum LTV?

Accepted Answer

We finance up to 80% loan-to-value on a purchase, with rate-and-term and cash-out refinances available, on loan amounts from $100K to $3M. Cash-out leverage is typically a little lower than purchase. The property's cash flow and your credit set your final leverage.

Question 10

What credit score do I need for a DSCR loan?

Accepted Answer

We start at 640, and the best pricing goes to strong credit. Because the loan qualifies on the asset, your score affects your rate and leverage more than whether you are approved.

Question 11

Can I get a DSCR loan on a short-term rental (Airbnb)?

Accepted Answer

Yes, short-term rentals are considered. We can underwrite using market or projected rents, and the property still needs to meet our DSCR. Tell us how the property is operated so we can structure it correctly.

Question 12

Is there a prepayment penalty?

Accepted Answer

Long-term rental loans usually carry a prepayment penalty, commonly a step-down such as 5/4/3/2/1. We offer flexible prepay structures, including buying down to a shorter penalty for a slightly higher rate, and we will lay out the options on your term sheet.

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