Most lenders treat the fourth unit as a wall. Jaken Finance Group does not. Agency residential and many national DSCR shops stop at 1–4 units. Jaken Finance Group DSCR has no unit-count maximum — duplex, 12-unit, and larger apartments qualify on property cash flow at 5.75%–10.5%.
Jaken Finance Group DSCR has no unit cap. Qualified non-owner-occupied apartments price in 5.75%–10.5%; value-add uses bridge 8.99%–13.5% IO. Hub: commercial real estate financing · Apply: commercial loan request · (833) 264-7776
Key stats
- Unit max: none — SFR through large apartments
- 1–4 units: rent ÷ PITIA, residential appraisal
- 5+ units: NOI ÷ debt service, commercial appraisal
- DSCR minimum: ~1.0 many 1–4 files; ~1.20–1.25 on 5+
- Max LTV: up to 80%–85% select 1–4; ~70%–75% on 5+
- Bank commercial: sponsor docs, balloons, agency boxes
Blog depth: DSCR loans for apartments
Complete comparison matrix
| Factor | DSCR 1–4 | DSCR 5+ | Typical bank commercial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit cap | None | None | Varies |
| Qualifying math | Rent ÷ PITIA | NOI ÷ debt service | NOI + sponsor financials |
| Rate | 5.75%–10.5% | 5.75%–10.5% | Quote-driven |
| Term | 30-year fixed/ARM | 30-year or by file | 5/7/10 balloon common |
| Personal tax returns | Not required | Not required | Often required |
| Best for | SFR, small MF | Garden, mid-size apartments | Agency/CMBS |
Why five units changes the file — not eligibility
Crossing to five units changes:
- Income: rent ÷ PITIA → NOI ÷ debt service
- Appraisal: residential → commercial income approach
- Paper: leases → rent roll and T-12
- Leverage: often tighter LTV and higher DSCR floor
Both buildings can still be DSCR — run multi-family calculator.
Value-add 5+ sequencing
- Multifamily bridge 5+ at 8.99%–13.5%
- Unit turns and lease-up
- DSCR takeout at 5.75%–10.5%
Worked example — 8-unit vs bank
$920,000 eight-unit, $72,000 NOI.
| Lender type | Leverage | Rate | Docs |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSCR | 72% LTV | 7.25% | Rent roll, no 1040 |
| Bank commercial | 65% LTV | 6.75% | 3 years tax returns, global DSCR |
Self-employed sponsor — DSCR closes 14 days. Bank committee 60+ days — if approved.
When bank commercial still fits
- Agency multifamily relationship pricing
- Specific amortization / balloon need
- Sponsor global balance sheet strengthens pricing below DSCR band
Compare on leverage, speed, and documentation — not assumed four-unit cap.
Apply: commercial loan request · DSCR hub · (833) 264-7776
Agency multifamily is a different building
FHFA oversees Fannie and Freddie. HUD Multifamily oversees FHA apartment programs. Those boxes want sponsor financials, longer calendars, and occupancy rules. Jaken Finance Group DSCR has no unit maximum — 1–4 uses rent ÷ PITIA; 5+ uses NOI — at 5.75%–10.5%.
A bank “commercial loan” with a five-year balloon is the other stack. Compare on purpose. Page hub: commercial real estate financing. Units: 5–10 · 10+. (833) 264-7776.
FHFA and the agency box most banks live in
The [Federal Housing Finance Agency](�URL0� oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those enterprises — and the banks that sell to them — live inside unit-count, occupancy, and document boxes. Many “commercial” quotes you hear on a 5–8 unit are really “we cannot do this on the agency desk.” Private DSCR at Jaken Finance Group has no unit-count maximum. Five units changes the file (NOI, commercial appraisal), not eligibility.
If a banker says “we stop at four,” they are describing their box. They are not describing the asset.
HUD multifamily vs small-balance private DSCR
HUD Multifamily Housing is built for insured, often affordable, larger programs. Processing is measured in months. A $920,000 eight-unit with $72,000 NOI usually wants private DSCR at 5.75%–10.5% in about 14 business days, or bridge at 8.99%–13.5% IO if value-add.
Use HUD when the property and mission fit HUD. Use Jaken Finance Group commercial real estate financing when you need investor speed and cash-flow qualification.
Unit-count myths that waste a month
“Four units is residential, five is commercial, twelve needs CMBS.” Those slogans mix products. Jaken Finance Group DSCR uses rent ÷ PITIA on 1–4 and NOI ÷ debt service on 5+. Leverage often tightens on 5+ (70%–75% LTV common) and DSCR floors rise (1.20–1.25). The product name stays DSCR.
Call (833) 264-7776 with unit count and T-12 — not a theory about what “commercial banks” will not do.
Bank commercial still fits when you already live inside an agency relationship, need a specific balloon, or the sponsor’s global balance sheet prices below the DSCR band. Compare leverage, speed, and documents — not a slogan about four-unit caps. Mixed-use with a commercial bay needs a split stack; see first-deal notes on first commercial multifamily loan.
Worked file — 12-unit, bank wanted a five-year balloon
Bank CRE quoted 6.9% with a 5-year balloon and full tax returns. Jaken Finance Group DSCR on NOI at 7.25% 30-year, 72% LTV, DSCR 1.20, no unit cap. The balloon was the expensive part — refinance risk in year five. Agency [HUD Multifamily](�URL0� was a 90-day education project the sponsor did not have. They took DSCR. See 10+ unit DSCR.
Closing times are in business days.
Those clocks commence upon receipt of appraisal payment and satisfaction of borrower conditions.
All loans are subject to full underwriting for loan approvals.
Jaken Finance Group only finances non-owner occupied investment properties.
NOI haircuts banks take that DSCR still reviews
Bank commercial often haircuts other income, raises vacancy, and adds a global sponsor DSCR on your W-2s and K-1s. Investor DSCR still reviews a real T-12. It does not rebuild your personal tax return. That is the speed difference.
Send honest expenses. A fairy-tale NOI that ignores a $9,000 insurance jump will fail the appraisal anyway.
Balloon risk on 5/7/10 bank paper
Many bank commercial quotes look cheaper — 6.75% versus 7.25% — and hide a 7-year balloon. You will refinance in a market you do not control. DSCR 30-year structures on qualified files remove that cliff. Price the balloon, not the teaser.
Agency multifamily through HUD or the GSEs can still win on large, clean, affordable, or relationship-driven assets. They lose on a $1.1 million 9-unit that needs to close this month.
14-unit vs an agency term sheet (composite)
- Purchase $1,640,000, NOI $128,000
- Private DSCR 72% LTV, 7.375%, no 1040s, 14 business days after a complete file
- Agency-style bank quote 68% LTV, 6.90%, 60–90 day committee, three years of returns, global DSCR
Self-employed sponsor picked DSCR. The coupon was higher. The close happened. Rate band 5.75%–10.5%. A value-add version of the same building would have started on bridge at 8.99%–13.5% IO.
When global sponsor DSCR helps a bank and hurts speed
If your personal balance sheet is pristine and you want the last 25 basis points, a bank relationship can be rational. If you are 1099, recently denied, or mid-1031, it is not. See investment property loans for self-employed and commercial loan after bank denial.
Permanent path picker for 5–20 units
| Building | First product |
|---|---|
| Stabilized, real T-12 | DSCR 5+ |
| Value-add, vacant, or heavy turns | Multifamily bridge → DSCR |
| Mixed-use with a commercial bay | Mixed-use DSCR |
| First 5+ ever | First commercial multifamily loan |
| Note under $2M | Small-balance commercial |
Interest-only DSCR can help early-year cash flow. Compare IO versus amortizing on the multi-family calculator.
Apply at commercial loan request. Call (833) 264-7776 with unit count, NOI, and whether any door is commercial. Have the T-12. Have the rent roll. Skip the speech about four-unit walls.
FHFA and HUD set the agency world. Jaken Finance Group’s investor DSCR sits outside that wall on purpose. Use each tool for the job it was built to do.
T-12 vs rent roll vs trailing collections
A rent roll is who should pay. Collections are who did pay. A T-12 is the year. First-time 5+ buyers send the roll and skip collections. Underwriting will ask for both. If collections are 8% light, the DSCR you advertised is not the DSCR you have.
Other income — laundry, parking, PETS — gets haircut if it is not in the T-12. Do not invent it on the bid sheet.
Agency, HUD, and private — pick one calendar
FHFA and the GSEs run one calendar. HUD Multifamily runs another. Private investor DSCR runs a third — about 14 business days on a complete file at 5.75%–10.5%. You cannot run all three in parallel without wasting appraisals.
If you need this month, pick private. If you need a policy-driven coupon on a large affordable asset, pick HUD or agency and budget a season.
Mixed-use and the split stack
A corner 6-unit with a cafe is not “basically apartments.” Split commercial and residential rent. See mixed-use DSCR. Short remaining term on the cafe lease kills NOI just like a short WALT kills industrial.
Interest-only vs amortizing on 5+
IO can lift year-one cash flow and lower DSCR stress. It can also hide a payment shock when amortization starts. Model both. Do not pick IO because a podcast said it is “how commercial works.”
Call (833) 264-7776 with unit count, T-12 NOI, occupancy, and close date. Apply at commercial loan request.
Related: first 5+ loan, bridge, DSCR, small-balance commercial.
Value-add 5+ still starts on bridge at 8.99%–13.5% IO. Permanent DSCR is the takeout, not the purchase tool, when half the building is down to the studs.
Jaken Finance Group has no unit-count maximum. Five units changes the appraisal and the math. It does not send you to a different planet named “commercial bank only.” Bring the T-12. Skip the slogan.
Insurance resets after you buy the 8-unit
Seller insurance is often owner-operated and underpriced. Your landlord policy will be higher. Recalculate NOI with the new quote before you celebrate a 1.22 DSCR. Wind, hail, and habitational surcharges have moved faster than many T-12s.
If the quote kills the ratio, the bid is too high or the building needs a different product — bridge while you raise rents, not a forced permanent close.
Call (833) 264-7776 with the new insurance number and the T-12. Apply at commercial loan request with both.
Agency and HUD calendars will not save a file that cannot insure. Private DSCR at 5.75%–10.5% will not either. Insurance is a gate, not a footnote. Get it on the exact address. Do not use a broker’s “typical 8-unit” estimate from a different zip code.
Five units already changed your appraisal. Do not let a lazy insurance quote change your DSCR after you waived contingencies. Order both opinions while you still have time to recut the price.
If a banker still says they “do not do five units,” they are describing an agency box. Bring the T-12 to commercial loan request and ask for investor DSCR. Unit count is a file type, not a veto. Call (833) 264-7776 with doors and NOI when that banker hangs up.
Rates, terms and conditions offered only to qualified borrowers and are subject to change at any time without notice.
Closing times are in business days.
Those clocks commence upon receipt of appraisal payment and satisfaction of borrower conditions.
All loans are subject to full underwriting for loan approvals.
Jaken Finance Group only finances non-owner occupied investment properties.