Good points here. I'm currently prepping for my first DSCR loan, and I've been running my own numbers too—vacancy, repairs, even unexpected HOA hikes. Curious, did you find lenders open to adjusting their initial estimates if you showed them your own calculations?
Lenders can be surprisingly flexible if your numbers are solid. I once showed mine a spreadsheet factoring in "apocalypse-level" HOA hikes... got a laugh and a slightly better vacancy estimate. Worth a shot, just keep it realistic.
Haha, love the apocalypse-level HOA scenario... lenders definitely appreciate a sense of humor mixed with realism. Curious though, anyone ever tried factoring in unexpected maintenance disasters—like the infamous "tenants flushed WHAT down the toilet?" incident?
Haha, yeah, the toilet horror stories are practically a rite of passage in rental investing. Honestly, I don't think lenders really factor in the "tenants flushed a Barbie doll" scenario directly into DSCR calculations—they're more about stable numbers—but it's definitely smart to mentally budget for those curveballs yourself. Have you ever tried building a small buffer into your projected maintenance costs? I usually pad mine by about 10-15% to cover those inevitable "surprise" plumbing nightmares or HVAC meltdowns. It won't necessarily impress the lender, but it'll save your sanity when things inevitably hit the fan... or toilet.
"Have you ever tried building a small buffer into your projected maintenance costs?"
Yeah, learned that lesson the hard way after a tenant's kid decided the heating vents were perfect for hiding crayons... melted wax everywhere. Curious, do you factor vacancy rates into your buffer too, or handle that separately?
