Tool
DSCR calculator for North Carolina rental property
The same arithmetic a lender runs: your rent against the property’s full monthly obligation. Every figure is yours to enter — nothing is preset, and nothing is an offer.
Property and loan inputs
Your coverage reading
Reading the result
What the ratio does and does not tell you
What it tells you
Whether the property’s rent covers its housing cost at the loan terms you entered — the single test at the center of business-purpose rental underwriting. If the ratio is short, the levers are price, down payment, structure or better rent evidence.
What it does not tell you
Whether a specific lender will approve the file. Floors vary by program; reserves, credit and property condition are underwritten around the ratio; and vacancy, maintenance and management sit outside the ratio entirely but inside your business.
For the full walkthrough — including the four North Carolina inputs that move the ratio most — read how the DSCR ratio is calculated.
FAQ
Calculator questions
What is a good DSCR ratio?
Programs set their own floors, and they vary by property type, loan size and borrower experience. As arithmetic: below 1.00 the rent does not cover the obligation at all; around 1.00 to 1.20 it covers with a thin cushion; above 1.25 most programs have room to work. Confirm the floor for the specific program quoting your file.
Why is the rate field empty?
Because we do not publish pricing — programs price per file, and any figure we printed would be an offer we are not making. Enter the pricing figure you are working with from a term sheet, a competitor quote or your own planning assumption, and the calculator does the arithmetic honestly on your input.
What taxes should I enter?
The county’s current annual figure for the parcel, pulled from the county tax record — not the listing sheet’s estimate. On a purchase, stress it upward toward what your price implies at the next reappraisal. The guide to North Carolina property taxes explains the reappraisal cycles.
Does the calculator include vacancy and maintenance?
No — the DSCR ratio itself does not count them, and neither does this calculator. They belong in your business plan and reserves. A property that clears coverage with nothing left over is not cash-flowing; it is a leveraged bet on appreciation with a bill attached.
How do HOA dues change the ratio?
They are added to the monthly obligation dollar for dollar. On a townhome or condo in a Charlotte or Raleigh planned community, dues can rival the tax line — and can be the difference between clearing a floor and missing it.
Numbers in hand? Send the scenario.
We will run your coverage math the way a lender will — with the county tax record, a realistic insurance figure and the rent survey you should expect — and tell you which programs the file clears.