Virginia DSCR Loans & Rates 2026

Virginia DSCR loan terms at a glance

Term	Save Financial (20+ DSCR lenders)
Minimum DSCR	1.0+ for the best pricing; down to 0.75 on a separate program at a higher rate; no-ratio option where rent is not used
Max loan-to-value	Up to 80% on purchases (20% down); about 75% on the no-ratio program; cash-out typically 70–75%
Minimum credit score	660; 700+ improves pricing; 740+ gets the best rates
Loan amount	$150,000 to $3,000,000
Loan terms	30-year fixed, interest-only and ARM options
Prepayment	Usually 1 year; no-prepay and longer-prepay options trade against rate and fees
Residency	Not required — out-of-state investors welcome
LLC vesting	Yes — LLC, corporation or personal name, with a personal guarantee
Short-term rentals	Yes, where local rules allow them
Income documents	None — no tax returns, W-2s, pay stubs or debt-to-income ratio
Closing time	Often about 18 days once documents are complete; appraisal timing varies

Virginia housing market at a glance

Virginia home prices rose 37.3% over the five years to mid-2026, the 26th-largest gain among the 50 states and faster than the U.S. average of 33.4%, according to FHFA’s purchase-only index. About 32.7% of Virginia households rent their home, versus 34.8% nationally.

Measure	Virginia	United States
Households that rent their home	32.7%	34.8%
Median gross rent (per month)	$1,579	$1,413
Median value of owner-occupied homes	$383,700	$332,700
Home-price change, last 5 years (to Q2 2026)	+37.3%	+33.4%
Home-price change, last 12 months (to Q2 2026)	+3.1%	+2.1%
Population, July 1, 2025	8.9 million	341.8 million
Population change since April 2020	+2.9%	+3.1%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (renter share, rent and home value are 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates; population is the Vintage 2025 estimate) and the FHFA House Price Index (purchase-only, seasonally adjusted, released August 2026).

Worth knowing about Virginia

Visitors spent a record $36.2 billion in Virginia in 2025, up 3.1% from 2024, with 46.6 million overnight visitors. (WDBJ7: State tourism spending reached record $36.2 billion in 2025, Gov. Spanberger says)
Virginia Tech’s official fall 2025 enrollment was 38,995 students, including a first-year class of 7,088 drawn from a record 57,700 applicants. (Strong retention rate highlights fall enrollment census (Virginia Tech News))

What rent does a Virginia rental need for a 1.0 DSCR?

At an illustrative 7.25% 30-year fixed rate with 20% down, Virginia’s average property tax rate and our insurance assumption below, a rental priced like the Virginia Beach median needs monthly rent of about 0.66% of its price to reach a 1.0 DSCR. Here is what the payment looks like at median prices in Virginia Beach, Richmond, Norfolk and Roanoke.

Market	Median price	Monthly PITIA at 20% down (= rent needed for 1.0)	Rent needed as % of price
Virginia Beach (Virginia Beach city)	$429,795 (Redfin, Sep 2026)	$2,860	0.66%
Richmond (Richmond city)	$401,199 (Redfin, Sep 2026)	$2,680	0.67%
Norfolk (Norfolk city)	$331,842 (Redfin, Sep 2026)	$2,260	0.68%
Roanoke (Roanoke city)	$247,975 (Redfin, Aug 2026)	$1,740	0.70%

Assumptions: 7.25% 30-year fixed (an example, not a quote); property tax at 0.78% of value, Virginia’s average effective rate on owner-occupied homes (rentals don’t get homestead breaks, so an investor’s effective rate is usually higher); insurance at $2,762 a year (LendingTree’s 2026 Virginia average homeowners premium); no HOA. Actual county tax rates, premiums and your rate will differ.

How much down do you need to reach 1.0?

If you know a property’s rent-to-price ratio (monthly rent ÷ price), this shows the down payment that gets it to a 1.0 DSCR for a home priced like the Virginia Beach median, under the same assumptions.

Monthly rent as % of price	Down payment, 30-year fixed	Down payment, interest-only
0.40%	About 59%	About 53%
0.45%	About 51%	About 45%
0.50%	About 44%	About 37%
0.55%	About 37%	About 29%
0.60%	About 29%	About 20%
0.65%	About 22%	20% (the minimum)

If the numbers fall short, there are three other routes: a program that accepts a DSCR down to 0.75 at a higher rate, interest-only payments, or a no-ratio DSCR loan with about 25% down.

Example: a median-priced Virginia Beach rental at three structures

The property: a $429,795 rental, the median price in Virginia Beach (Virginia Beach city).

Costs: property tax about $279 a month and insurance about $230 a month under the assumptions above. Rate is an illustrative 7.25%, an example and not a quote.

Structure	Loan	Monthly PITIA	Rent needed for 1.0
20% down, 30-year fixed	$343,836	$2,860	About $2,860
25% down, 30-year fixed	$322,346	$2,710	About $2,710
25% down, interest-only	$322,346	$2,460	About $2,460

The takeaway: moving from 20% down to 25% down with interest-only lowers the rent this property needs to qualify by about $400 a month. We price each structure side by side so you can compare the extra cash against the rate.

Virginia property tax and insurance: what changes the DSCR

Property tax

Virginia’s average effective property tax rate is about 0.78% of home value for owner-occupied homes, per the Tax Foundation. Virginia law requires real estate to be assessed at 100% of fair market value (Code § 58.1-3201), and each city or county may adopt annual assessments with values set as of January 1 (§ 58.1-3253), so a rental’s tax bill follows the local reassessment cycle and the rate set by that locality. Rates and assessment schedules differ from one independent city or county to the next, so investors should check the local assessor. Lenders use the tax bill you will actually pay as an investor, so get the county’s estimate for a non-owner-occupied property before you make an offer.

Insurance

LendingTree puts Virginia’s average homeowners premium at $2,762 a year, close to the $2,801 national average that LendingTree reports on its Louisiana page. LendingTree also says Virginia rates climbed about 39% from 2021 to 2025, less than the roughly 48% national increase over the same years. Under Virginia’s landlord-tenant act, a landlord who does not require renter’s insurance must tell tenants in writing that such policies exclude flood damage and direct them to FEMA or state flood-risk maps to check whether the home sits in a special flood hazard area (Code § 55.1-1206). A rental needs a landlord (dwelling) policy, and the full premium goes into the payment the rent has to cover, so get a real quote early.

Virginia landlord rules that matter to a lender

Rent control: No Virginia statute currently lets localities cap rents. In 2026 the General Assembly did not pass HB 278 or SB 355, which would have allowed local rent stabilization: HB 278 was sent to the Virginia Housing Commission for study and SB 355 was carried over to 2027.

Evictions: When rent goes unpaid, the landlord serves a written notice giving the tenant 14 days to pay before the lease can be terminated (Code § 55.1-1245(F)). For a lease violation the tenant can fix, the notice allows 21 days to cure, and termination can take effect no sooner than 30 days after the notice is received. The landlord then files an unlawful detainer, which must be served at least 10 days before the return date; for cases under the landlord-tenant act, the first hearing should be held within 21 days of filing and in any event within 30 days (§ 8.01-126). After a judgment for possession, the landlord has 180 days to request a writ of eviction (§ 8.01-471), and the sheriff must give at least 72 hours’ notice before carrying it out (§ 8.01-470).

A landlord cannot require a security deposit larger than two months’ rent and must return it, with an itemized list of any deductions, within 45 days after the tenancy ends (Code § 55.1-1226).

Short-term rental rules in Virginia markets investors ask about

A lender only counts Airbnb or VRBO income if the property can legally operate as a short-term rental. If it can’t, the loan is sized on long-term rent from the appraiser’s rent schedule.

Virginia Beach: Renting an entire home for less than 30 days requires a short-term rental zoning permit for each address, renewed every year for $500. The application must include safety inspections, a parking plan with one off-street space per bedroom, $1 million in liability coverage, and registration with the Commissioner of the Revenue. New permits are available only to grandfathered properties, homes in the Sandbridge Special Service District, and homes in the Oceanfront Resort STR Overlay, where a conditional use permit is also required. The city page does not list a tax rate.
Richmond: Since Ordinance 2023-235, an STR operator must own the property, and in residential zoning districts the rental must be on the same lot as the owner’s primary residence, so investors cannot run a non-owner-occupied STR in residential zones. Each residential lot may have one STR. In multifamily buildings in non-residential districts, STRs are capped at ten units or one-third of the units, whichever is fewer. The permit costs $600 and lasts two years, there is no limit on nights, and stays are capped at eight adults.
Arlington County: Hosts need an Accessory Homestay permit and must live in the home as their primary residence for more than half the year (at least 185 days), which shuts out non-owner-occupied investor STRs. Hosts collect and remit an 8.25% transient occupancy tax, made up of a 5% county tax, a 0.25% tourism tax, and a 3% state regional tax.

Rules change often. Confirm the permit status for the exact address with the city or county before you buy.

Other Virginia factors for rental investors

When a deed is recorded, Virginia charges a state recordation tax of 25 cents per $100 of the greater of price or value (Code § 58.1-801) and a separate grantor tax of 50 cents per $500 (§ 58.1-802), both of which affect closing costs.
Security deposits are limited to two months’ rent and must be returned with an itemized list within 45 days after the tenancy ends (Code § 55.1-1226).
Starting July 1, 2027, a landlord with more than four rental units must offer a one-time payment plan, with 14 days to pay or enroll, when a tenant owes no more than one month’s rent plus allowable late fees (version of Code § 55.1-1245 taking effect July 1, 2027).
Local rent caps are not allowed today. In 2026, HB 278 failed in subcommittee and was referred to the Virginia Housing Commission for study, and SB 355 was continued to the 2027 session.

Broker vs. direct DSCR lender

A direct DSCR lender can only offer its own program. As a broker, Save Financial compares 20+ DSCR lenders, including lenders active in Virginia, which matters most when a property doesn’t fit the standard box.

	Single direct DSCR lender	Save Financial (broker, 20+ lenders)
Programs available	One lender’s guidelines and rate sheet	Guidelines and pricing from 20+ DSCR lenders, compared for your file
DSCR below 1.0	Only if that lender offers it	A program down to 0.75, plus a no-ratio option
Short-term rental income	That lender’s single method	Matched to the lender whose method gives the strongest qualifying rent
Lease requirement	Usually required on occupied units	One of our lenders uses the appraiser’s market rent with no lease
Reserves	Set by that lender	Cash-out loans generally need none; one lender requires none at all
Prepayment penalty	That lender’s structures	Choose 1-year, no-prepay or longer, priced side by side
How the originator is paid	Built into the rate and fees	Disclosed on your Loan Estimate; when lender-paid, it’s reflected in the rate

Virginia DSCR loan questions

Can I get a DSCR loan in Virginia if I live in California or another state?

Yes. A DSCR loan qualifies on the Virginia property’s rent, not your residency, job or tax returns, so out-of-state investors close Virginia rentals the same way local investors do. Save Financial is a California-based broker that arranges Virginia DSCR loans through lenders active in the state.

What DSCR do lenders require in Virginia?

A DSCR of 1.0 or higher, meaning the rent covers principal, interest, taxes, insurance and any HOA, gets the best pricing. A separate program accepts ratios down to 0.75 at a higher rate, and a no-ratio DSCR loan skips the ratio with about 25% down.

How do Virginia property taxes affect a DSCR loan?

Taxes are part of the payment the rent has to cover. Virginia’s average effective rate is about 0.78% for owner-occupied homes, per the Tax Foundation, and rentals don’t get owner-occupant breaks, so an investor’s bill is usually higher. See the property tax section above for how Virginia assesses rentals.

What share of Virginia households rent, and how much have home prices risen?

About 32.7% of Virginia households rent their home (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020–2024), and the median gross rent is $1,579 a month. FHFA data show Virginia home prices rose 37.3% in the five years to mid-2026, versus 33.4% nationally.

Can I use Airbnb income on a Virginia DSCR loan?

Yes, if the property can legally operate as a short-term rental under local rules. Lenders use 12 months of platform payouts, an AirDNA projection (often counted at 75–80%), or fall back to the appraiser’s long-term rent. Check the city rules above before you buy.

Can I close a Virginia DSCR loan in an LLC?

Yes. DSCR loans close in an LLC or corporation with you as personal guarantor. If your LLC was formed in another state, Virginia may require it to register as a foreign LLC before it holds property there; confirm with your attorney or CPA.

Do DSCR loans have prepayment penalties?

Usually. Most of our DSCR loans carry a one-year prepayment period. A no-prepay loan is available at a slightly higher rate or more in fees, and a longer prepayment period can lower your rate or fees.

How long does a Virginia DSCR loan take to close?

Often about 18 days once your documents are complete, though appraisal timing varies. The appraisal with the rent schedule is usually the longest step, and closings can be done remotely or with a mobile notary.

DSCR Loans in Virginia