Loan eligibility & requirements

Every Jaken Finance Group program in one place. We underwrite collateral-first — the property, the numbers, and your exit — not minimum FICO gates or W-2 income. Loans are business-purpose, typically vested in an LLC, and available in all 50 states.

Eligibility by program

DSCR leverage: Up to 85% LTV purchase, 80% LTV cash-out, and 85% LTV rate-and-term in select markets for qualified borrowers. Ranges reflect qualified files; quoted terms depend on the property, sponsor, and exit.

How we underwrite: collateral-first

A bank starts with your W-2, your debt-to-income ratio, and two years of tax returns, then works toward the property. We invert that. Our short-term programs are asset-based: the deal qualifies on the collateral and the plan — purchase price, after-repair or as-completed value, scope of work, sponsor liquidity, and a credible exit — not on personal income documentation. That is why an investor with strong deals but variable, self-employed, or hard-to-document income can close here when a conventional lender cannot.

Eligibility does shift by program. Fix-and-flip, bridge, and construction files are judged mostly on the rehab or build economics and the resale or refinance exit. DSCR rental loans add one income test — the property's own cash flow must service the debt (see the DSCR leverage note above) — but still require no personal income qualification. Across all programs the loan must be business-purpose and the property non-owner-occupied; that is both how we lend and, in Illinois, what keeps the loan outside the consumer statutes covered in our Illinois lending law guide.

What every file needs

• Business-purpose entity. Title vested in an LLC (preferred) or other business entity — no personal-use loans.
• Credible collateral. A property with supportable ARV or as-completed value and comps in the submarket.
• Project economics. Line-item budget, realistic LTC, and adequate spread between all-in cost and value.
• Liquidity. Reserves to cover down payment, closing, and carrying costs through the hold.
• A defined exit. Resale, DSCR refinance, or permanent takeout the numbers actually support.
• Property insurance. Bound coverage naming Jaken Finance Group before closing.

Credit and income: what we actually check

Credit-flexible underwriting with no minimum FICO on select programs. Approval is collateral-first — driven by ARV, LTC, scope, liquidity, and exit strategy. We may pull credit to review trends, but FICO is not the primary approval driver. In practice, that means we may pull credit to understand payment history and read the story behind a score — a past bankruptcy that is seasoned and explained is very different from active, unaddressed collections — but the score is not a gate the way it is at a bank. Higher scores and a track record of completed projects unlock better leverage tiers and pricing; a thin or bruised file does not automatically disqualify a strong deal. Liquidity carries real weight: we want to see reserves that cover the down payment, closing costs, and several months of carry, because a rehab that runs long should not put the project — or the borrower — underwater.

Who does not qualify

Some files are a structural no, regardless of how the numbers look:

• Owner-occupants and personal use. These are business-purpose loans on non-owner-occupied property; a primary residence or personal-use intent is not eligible.
• No defined exit. If the plan has no credible resale, refinance, or takeout the numbers support, we will not fund it.
• Insufficient liquidity. A deal with no reserve cushion for overruns or carry is a decline, not a stretch.
• Unsupportable value. An ARV or as-completed value without real comps in the submarket will not clear underwriting.

Need program-specific detail? See fix-and-flip loan requirements, DSCR rental loans, or the full program parameters.