Short-term rental loans finance investor-owned Airbnb, VRBO, and vacation-rental properties — not the guest booking a weekend. The right product depends on where your deal sits today: a vacant acquisition that still needs work, a closed house waiting on furniture, a licensed listing already taking bookings, or a W-2 borrower buying a second home they will occasionally rent.
Jaken Finance Group originates the full STR financing stack nationwide — hard money at 8.99%–13.5% interest-only for properties that are not rent-ready, STR DSCR at 5.75%–10.5% for stabilized nightly-rental income, and referral paths for furniture notes and conventional second-home files when those fit better. Call (833) 264-7776 or use the intake links at the bottom once you know your deal stage.
This guide is educational. STR ordinances, permit transfers, and occupancy caps change by city. Confirm local rules with qualified counsel before you waive inspection — nothing here is legal advice.
Pick your product by deal stage
Most STR investors do not need every loan type at once. They need the one that matches what the property can prove today.
| Deal stage | Property looks like | Best product | Typical rate band | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not rent-ready | Vacant, needs rehab, missing permit, or fails livability | Hard money / bridge | 8.99%–13.5% IO | Submit flip scenario |
| Ground-up STR build | Raw land or tear-down; vertical to CO for nightly-rental product | Construction loan | 8.99%–13.5% IO | STR construction loans |
| Closed, needs FF&E | Deed recorded; beds, staging, and systems not installed | Unsecured furniture note | Approx. 6%–18% (quoted per file) | Airbnb furniture financing |
| Turnkey STR | Licensed, furnished, taking bookings with income history or supported projections | STR DSCR | 5.75%–10.5% fixed or ARM | STR DSCR guide |
| W-2 / personal use | Borrower has salaried income and will occupy part of the year | Conventional second home | Agency pricing (varies) | Loan picker |
That table is the spine of STR financing. Everything below explains why each lane exists and when to move from one to the next.
Stage 1: Hard money when the property is not ready
A short-term rental is not financeable on nightly income until it can legally take guests and generate revenue. If you are buying a vacant beach condo that needs a kitchen refresh, a Smoky Mountain cabin without furniture, or a house in a city where the STR permit does not transfer at closing, you are in bridge territory — not DSCR territory.
Hard money and bridge loans close on the asset and your exit plan, not on a rent roll that does not exist yet. Jaken Finance Group hard money runs 8.99%–13.5% interest-only with terms built around acquisition, rehab draws, and a defined refinance or resale exit. Close speed matters here: auction deadlines, off-market contracts, and seasonal windows do not wait for a 30-day DSCR file.
Common hard-money STR use cases:
- Acquisition plus light rehab before furnishing and licensing
- Permit-gap bridge when the seller’s STR license will not transfer and you need to close before re-applying
- Conversion play — buying a long-term rental or owner-occupied home you plan to convert to STR (see short-term rental conversion loans)
- BRRRR-style STR — buy, improve, furnish, launch bookings, then refinance to permanent DSCR debt
The exit on hard money is always explicit: refinance into STR DSCR once the property is operating, sell if the numbers support it, or extend bridge if the timeline slips. Carry at 8.99%–13.5% interest-only is tolerable for months; it is expensive for years. Treat bridge debt like scaffolding — it holds the deal up while you build the rental, then comes down.
Submit a flip or bridge scenario · Compare bridge vs permanent debt: DSCR vs hard money for investors
Stage 2: Furniture note after the deed closes
Closing the property loan and launching a listing are two different capital events. A DSCR mortgage funds the real estate. It does not buy king beds, outdoor seating, hot-tub service, or professional photography.
When the furniture package runs $50,000–$500,000, an unsecured business-purpose term loan can fund FF&E in days while the property sits vacant. That note is separate from the mortgage. DSCR underwriting compares rental income to PITIA on the property loan — the furniture installment hits your operating account afterward.
Why investors finance FF&E instead of waiting on cash:
- The down payment already drained liquid reserves
- Mixed designer invoices (furniture, freight, install labor) do not fit equipment-loan collateral rules
- Multiple STRs need to launch in the same quarter — waiting on cash staggers revenue by months
Full program detail, payment modeling, and the calculator live on the dedicated page: Airbnb furniture financing. The short version: if slow-season cash flow cannot cover both the DSCR payment and the furniture note after vacancy and platform fees, do not furnish on credit.
Stage 3: STR DSCR when the rental is turnkey
Once the property is furnished, permitted, insured for STR use, and either operating or supported by documented projections, STR DSCR is the permanent hold loan. These files qualify on property income, not W-2 or tax-return documentation — which is why self-employed hosts and LLC-held portfolios scale through DSCR instead of conventional bank limits.
Jaken Finance Group STR DSCR rates: 5.75%–10.5% on 30-year fixed or ARM products. Leverage up to 85% LTV on purchase and 80% LTV on cash-out in select markets for qualified borrowers. Close timelines run roughly 14 business days on complete files.
STR DSCR is not identical to long-term rental DSCR. Lenders use a narrower pool, apply 10%–20% haircuts on AirDNA or projection income, and often want 1.20+ DSCR for best pricing. Income verification methods include trailing 12-month platform statements, executed leases for mid-term stays, appraiser market rent (Form 1007), and third-party STR projections.
Everything about STR income methods, no-ratio options, no-seasoning cash-out, and lender haircuts is on the dedicated product page — DSCR loans for short-term rentals (Airbnb / VRBO). This hub does not duplicate that underwriting checklist.
Related STR DSCR paths:
- Mid-term rental DSCR loans — furnished 30–90 day stays when STR licensing is hostile but the 1007 rent schedule still clears
- Condotel DSCR loans — condo-hotel units that fail agency warrantability
- Airbnb cash-out refinance — pull equity from a performing STR without waiting 12 months
- Airbnb loan requirements — credit, reserves, entity vesting, and documentation checklist
Model your file before you apply: DSCR calculator
Stage 4: Conventional second home when W-2 income fits
Not every Airbnb buyer is a full-time investor. Some purchasers have strong W-2 or salaried income, plan personal use of the property for part of the year, and want agency-rate financing on a vacation home they will occasionally list.
Conventional second-home mortgages can work when the borrower meets personal-income, occupancy, and reserve requirements and the lender allows short-term rental income to offset the payment. These files run through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines — debt-to-income, credit score models, and occupancy attestations apply. They are not business-purpose DSCR.
Conventional fits when:
- The borrower will use the home personally and STR income is supplemental
- Personal income documentation is clean and DTI supports the payment
- The property type and location meet agency eligibility (warrantable condo, no condotel, no commercial zoning conflicts)
Conventional does not fit when:
- The borrower cannot document personal income but the STR cash-flows strongly
- The property will be 100% investor-operated in an LLC with no personal use
- The asset is a condotel, non-warrantable condo, or mixed-use building
When you are unsure which lane you are in, start at what kind of loan do you need — it routes acquisition, refinance, and product questions without guessing.
Composite worked example: Destin Gulf-front condo
This example stitches all four stages into one file. Numbers are illustrative — your market, insurance, and permit timeline will differ.
The deal: A three-bedroom Gulf-front condo in Destin, Florida. Purchase price $485,000. Needs cosmetic refresh ($35,000), new STR permit application (non-transferable), and full FF&E ($72,000). AirDNA projects $98,000 gross annual revenue at conservative occupancy.
Phase 1 — Hard money acquisition (months 0–2)
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | $485,000 |
| Rehab budget | $35,000 |
| Hard money at 90% LTC | $468,000 |
| Sponsor cash in | $52,000 (down payment + carry reserve) |
| Rate | 11.25% interest-only |
| Monthly IO payment | ~$4,388 |
The sponsor closes in 12 business days, completes the refresh, and applies for the city STR registration. Hard money carry is acceptable because the property cannot yet generate nightly income.
Phase 2 — Furniture note (month 2)
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| FF&E package | $72,000 |
| Unsecured 3-year note at 12.5% | ~$2,410/mo payment |
| Launch timeline | Listings live week 10 |
The property mortgage and the furniture note are separate obligations. The sponsor models both before signing the designer contract.
Phase 3 — STR DSCR refinance (month 4, after 60 days operating)
Trailing 60-day platform income annualizes to $92,000. The lender applies a 15% haircut → $78,200 qualifying income.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Appraised value (as-is, furnished) | $545,000 |
| DSCR loan at 75% LTV | $408,750 |
| Hard money payoff | $468,000 → covered by $408,750 loan + $59,250 sponsor equity (BRRRR-style capital left in) |
| Rate | 7.50% fixed, 30-year |
| PITIA | ~$3,520/mo |
| Operating expenses (tax, ins, HOA, mgmt) | ~$1,850/mo |
| NOI | $78,200 − $22,200 = $56,000/yr |
| DSCR | $56,000 ÷ $42,240 = 1.33 |
The file clears standard STR DSCR at 1.20+. Hard money at 8.99%–13.5% IO exits; permanent debt locks at 5.75%–10.5%.
Phase 4 — Monthly cash flow after stabilization
| Line | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Gross STR revenue (annualized) | ~$7,667 |
| Platform fees, cleaning, supplies (~22%) | −$1,687 |
| Net revenue | ~$5,980 |
| PITIA | −$3,520 |
| Furniture note | −$2,410 |
| Cash after both debt payments | ~$50 |
That last line is the point of the exercise. The deal clears DSCR and barely covers the furniture note in the base case. Peak season builds reserves; January stress-tests the file. A sponsor who skipped the furniture-note math and assumed DSCR approval equals profitability would be surprised by slow months.
After the 3-year furniture note pays off, monthly cash flow jumps by $2,410 without any change to the DSCR payment. Many STR operators plan exactly this sequence: bridge → furnish → DSCR refi → let the FF&E note amortize off.
For Destin-specific permit, insurance, and market context, see Destin short-term rental loans (2026).
Specialty paths worth knowing
STR financing is not one-size-fits-all. These adjacent products cover common edge cases:
Mid-term rentals (30–90 days). When STR licensing caps make nightly rentals impractical but furnished corporate or travel-nurse stays still outperform an annual lease, mid-term rental DSCR qualifies on the appraiser’s long-term rent schedule — not your furnished premium. The MTR lane sits between STR and LTR in both regulation and underwriting.
Condotels and condo-hotels. Units inside hotel-style buildings fail agency warrantability. Condotel DSCR finances them on rental income at conservative LTV — typically 60%–70%.
Conversion from LTR to STR. Buying a leased rental or owner-occupied home and converting it to nightly use often starts on hard money, not DSCR. See short-term rental conversion loans for the acquisition-and-conversion sequence.
Cash-out on a performing STR. Operators who want to pull equity for the next acquisition without a 12-month seasoning clock should review Airbnb cash-out refinance options alongside the DSCR calculator.
Local STR markets we finance
Vacation-rental economics vary sharply by supply, seasonality, and ordinance. These city guides cover permit rules, income benchmarks, and financing paths for active STR markets:
- Gatlinburg short-term rental loans (2026) — Smoky Mountain cabins, Tourist Residency permits, January carry stress
- Destin short-term rental loans (2026) — Gulf Coast condos, hurricane insurance, Walton vs Okaloosa rules
- Gulf Shores short-term rental loans (2026) — Alabama beach STR licensing and DSCR income methods
- Charleston short-term rental loans (2026) — Historic district constraints and Lowcountry seasonality
- Sedona short-term rental loans (2026) — Red-rock tourism demand and Arizona STR regulation
Ordinance context that applies across markets: short-term rental laws for investors.
What underwriters actually review on STR files
Lenders see hundreds of STR applications where the sponsor’s spreadsheet shows peak-season ADR and the file shows January vacancy. Underwriting focuses on defensible income, not marketing copy.
Key documentation themes — full checklist on Airbnb loan requirements:
- Income method — trailing platform statements, AirDNA with lender haircut, or Form 1007 long-term rent (whichever the program accepts)
- Permit and license — active STR registration or a credible path to one before funding
- Insurance — STR or hospitality-grade policy that matches actual use; standard landlord policies often exclude nightly guests
- Entity vesting — LLC is common; operating agreement and guarantor structure documented at application
- Reserves — typically 6–12 months PITIA; STR files often sit at the high end because seasonality creates cash-flow gaps
- Appraisal — as-is value with STR use acknowledged; condotels and non-warrantable condos may need specialty reviewers
Credit-flexible programs exist with no minimum FICO on select products. Approval remains collateral-first — driven by property cash flow, LTV, reserves, and exit strategy.
How to submit your STR scenario
Bring the address, purchase price or current value, property condition, permit status, and income documentation (projections or trailing history). The intake path depends on what you need:
| Your situation | Start here |
|---|---|
| Buying or rehabbing — not rent-ready yet | Submit flip scenario |
| Refinancing a stabilized STR | Submit refi scenario |
| General pre-qualification or product selection | What kind of loan do you need |
| Full scenario with address and numbers | Submit scenario |
Call (833) 264-7776 to talk through a file before you apply. Jaken Finance Group originates in all 50 states.
A note on regulation and risk
Short-term rental investing sits at the intersection of land-use law, hospitality operations, and business-purpose lending. Cities can cap permits, ban new registrations, or change transfer rules with little notice. Insurance carriers can exclude STR use from standard landlord policies. Platform algorithms change. None of that appears on a rate sheet.
Before you commit capital, read the local ordinance (start with short-term rental laws for investors), confirm insurance in writing, and model income at blended occupancy — not peak week. Financing can put you in the property; operations and compliance keep you there.
This page is for educational purposes. It is not legal, tax, or investment advice. Program terms, rates, and eligibility vary by file and change without notice. Verify every term sheet against your specific property and counsel before you close.