DSCR for Conservative RE Expansion

DSCR for Conservative RE Expansion

Member since 2018 · 28 posts · 13 votes

Hopefully this is the right thread for this question and thank you in advance.

TL;DR - own a few rentals, DSCR is 1.05, could take out a bigger loan against a property to get more cash for next purchase, DSCR would go to about 0.90 before next purchase is renovated/rented, RE is side gig and job is stable to can put additional W-2 wages to cover RE, want to remain somewhat conservative with potential long term COVID economic fallout, how conservative is too conservative?

Currently own a few rental units. Looking to expand to another property. BRRR or flip and SFR or 4plex, depending on availability and numbers, but preference is 4plex BRRR. Plan is to partner with a few folks for the downpayment/liquidity requirement (planning on a hard money loan).

All properties in the DC market, so rents should not soften too much due to federal government as main employer (one hopes), but I still want to stay on the conservative side given the unknown economic impacts of COVID-19. No non-real estate debt. Currently in temporary housing due to COVID-19.

So, here is the question. My current DSCR is roughly 1.05. I have a property that I could take a loan out against in order to increase the cash on hand for the next deal. My guess is it would drop my DSCR down to about 0.9. It would, of course, improve after the renovation is complete and renters are in it. RE is a side gig, so I could cover some of the payments from my W-2 income. I know it's subjective, but how risky is too risky with this? I'm not so risk adverse that I don't want to buy something in the next 12 months, but I don't want to gamble it all away by being over leveraged.

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Greg ScottPro Member
Rental Property Investor · SE Michigan · Member since 2014 · 4k+ posts · 6k+ votes
6y

Even a DSCR of 1.05 is effectively de-capitalizing your business because you do not have enough funding to cover basic repairs and maintenance. In commercial properties, most banks require a 1.25 DSCR. At 1.05 you are banking on appreciation of either rent or value. That is a speculative bet, the same as buying a stock.

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  • Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2019 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

    "DSCR would go to about 0.90 before next purchase is renovated/rented"

    Umm, if your DSCR is <1.00, you've got neg CFBT. You have a lender willing to do that already?

  • Member since 2018 · 28 posts · 13 votes
    6y

    I think so, because none of these numbers take into account my W-2 salary, currently able to save about 50%, so that could be diverted to covering the RE debt.


    I’m just looking for options - in theory with the partners we have we could do a deal now, but if I took out the extra loan it would give us more reserves. We could just wait and save up more cash, but if I have an opportunity to get more cash on hand immediately I think it’s worth considering in case something comes across the plate sooner

  • Greg ScottPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · SE Michigan · Member since 2014 · 4k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    6y

    Even a DSCR of 1.05 is effectively de-capitalizing your business because you do not have enough funding to cover basic repairs and maintenance. In commercial properties, most banks require a 1.25 DSCR. At 1.05 you are banking on appreciation of either rent or value. That is a speculative bet, the same as buying a stock.

  • Member since 2018 · 28 posts · 13 votes
    6y

    Would you consider 1.25 as low as one should go? These numbers include 1 months vacancy expense and 1 months maintenance expense, but don’t include capex expense since that just gets added to reserves. I have or am working towards 1 year expenses in reserves for each property.

  • Daniel DietzPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Reedsburg, WI · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 857 votes
    6y

    @Michael Needle, we have about 10 doors on commercial loans out of our 30 units. Our lender would 'let us' go as low as 1.1 DSCR, but *we* choose to try not to dip below 1.20 DSCR.

    Unlike you, we (2 partners and I) do NOT have any extra W2 income to put towards it if things go bad. We could have to dip into our assets to cover things, which is not in the plan ;-)

    What our lender has us count is PITI - principal, interest, taxes and insurance - the 'have tos'. So the first 1.0 counts those, and the extra 20% is for maintenance, cap ex, and vacancy.

    My personal thought if you have that much *extra* W2 income or partners willing to pitch in why not just save up until you have enough to 'stay in the positive'?

    Dan Dietz

  • Rental Property Investor · DFW, TX · Member since 2013 · 953 posts · 910 votes
    6y

    @Michael Needle 1.2 is my minimum. You could always do some Fannie/Freddie loans that dont care about DSCR. Bringing in partners on your next deal with a DSCR that low could make financing harder too. But if you have a good relationship with the lender and the deal is really solid they might take the risk. Or go find private money that doesnt look at that metric.

  • Greg ScottPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · SE Michigan · Member since 2014 · 4k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    6y

    @Michael Needle I presume you are in SF rentals because if it was a commercial building the bank would be dictating your DSCR requirement.

    I'd encourage you to look beyond DC area. I've had SF rentals in several states. Typically I've cash flowed at least $300-500/mo, so while I've never calculated it, I know my DSCR was probably close to 1.4 or 1.5. With that amount of cash flow, you can take a few bad hits and keep moving forward.

  • Rental Property Investor · Boston, Massachusetts (MA) · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

    @Michael Needle conservative/prudent? I’d say 1.4. Many traditional banks have a cutoff at 1.2

  • Rental Property Investor · Boston, Massachusetts (MA) · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

    @Michael Needle and that’s calculated with appropriate expenses/reserves

  • Member since 2018 · 28 posts · 13 votes
    6y

    @Greg Scott just curious what it is about DC that you don't like? Just higher returns elsewhere? I'd agree but I spend most of my time overseas for work, so while I'd like to invest in other areas it's hard for me to be able to go build a network and get there quickly I'd something really does go wrong. Also, yes you're correct, SFRs, just using DSCR as a guideline. Thanks for the input!

  • Member since 2018 · 28 posts · 13 votes
    6y

    Thanks to everyone who offered input, seems like the smart choice here is to save more cash without getting any more leveraged! 

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