Two loan types can finance the exact same rental property, and they price it in completely different ways. One uses a published fee grid anyone can look up. The other uses private pricing that varies lender to lender and is not published anywhere. Comparing them honestly means keeping those two kinds of numbers separate, not blending them into one figure that looks more precise than it is.
The side we can quote exactly
Conventional investment loans are sold to Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. That is why they are called agency loans. Their pricing sits on a public grid, and the numbers are exact. On a $320,000 loan, a 740-759 credit score, and 80% loan to value, the published fee is $13,600. That figure is a base credit-score fee plus a separate investment-property add-on stacked on top. See the full fee breakdown by loan-to-value band to see how it moves as your down payment changes.
The side we can only report, not quote
DSCR loans are Non-QM. That means they are not sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Many DSCR loans are held by portfolio lenders, lenders that keep the loan instead of selling it. That is part of why DSCR pricing is not published the way the agency grid is. DSCR loans usually price above conventional investment loans, but we will not print a number for how much. We could not find a published source that states one, and a figure with no source behind it is worth less than nothing on a page about money. Ask two or three DSCR lenders for a quote and compare those against the published conventional fee above, which you can verify yourself.
That range matters, but it is a different kind of number than the conventional side’s exact fee. This page will not blend the two into one “DSCR costs this much more” figure. Doing that would borrow false precision from a number nobody can actually verify.
The decision that actually drives the choice
For most investors, two questions decide which loan is cheaper, before rate even enters the picture.
| Can you document 2 years of qualifying personal income? | Are you under Fannie’s 10-financed-property limit? | Likely cheaper choice |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | Conventional investment loan, priced from the public grid |
| Yes | No | DSCR likely needed. The property limit blocks conventional financing no matter your income |
| No | Yes | DSCR likely needed. Income documentation is the blocker |
| No | No | DSCR likely needed on both counts |
For most investors under the property limit with documentable income, conventional pricing wins on cost. DSCR earns its premium once either of those stops being true.
The ten-financed-property limit is a rule most people never hear about until they hit it. It is a real, structural reason a growing portfolio ends up in DSCR loans, even when the rate is higher.
Why the premium can still be worth it
Whatever premium a DSCR lender quotes you is real money over a 30-year loan. But it buys something conventional financing cannot. No personal income documents. No cap on the number of properties financed. Often a faster close, since underwriting looks at the property, not a stack of tax returns. For an investor with complex income, several properties already financed, or a deal that needs to close fast, that trade is often worth it, even at a higher rate. For an investor with plain W-2 income and one or two properties, it usually is not. The conventional grid’s exact fee is likely to beat DSCR pricing on cost.
What neither loan type changes
Whichever loan you choose, the DSCR math still applies to the property itself. A DSCR loan needs the rent to cover the payment, because that is how the loan qualifies at all. A conventional loan does not require that ratio for approval. But a rental that does not cover its own payment is still a bad investment, no matter which loan financed it. Run your property’s DSCR ratio either way, before you pick a loan type to shop. See what counts as a good DSCR ratio for how to read that number once you have it.
Documentation and speed matter too, not just price
Cost is the biggest factor, but it is not the only one. A conventional loan asks for two years of tax returns, pay stubs, and a full look at your personal finances, on top of the property itself. That paperwork takes time to gather and time to underwrite. A DSCR loan skips almost all of it, since the property’s rent does the qualifying. For an investor closing on a tight deadline, or one with income that is hard to document cleanly on paper even though it is real, that speed and simplicity can be worth paying for on its own, separate from the rate premium question above.
The property-count limit works the same way. An investor near Fannie Mae’s cap is not just choosing the cheaper loan. They may be choosing the only loan a conventional lender will process at all. In that case, the DSCR premium is not really a choice between two prices. It is the cost of staying in the game once the cheaper door has closed.
What this means for you
If you can document two years of income and you are not near Fannie’s property limit, start by shopping conventional investment financing. Use the fee grid to get an exact number. If either of those stops being true, expect to shop DSCR loans instead. Treat any rate you are quoted as your own real number, not the reported range on this page. The range is here to set expectations before you call anyone. It is not a replacement for a real quote once you do.