How We Compute Every Figure
Every number on this site rides one engine and one set of documented defaults. This page states them: the rate, the costs, the market data, and the rules that decide which limit governs.
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By Andrew Pawlak, Founder · Program figures verified
Every figure on this site is computed, never typed. One engine produces the DSCR, the payment, and every loan limit, and the same engine runs on every page. When a page shows a worked example, a metro table, or a break-even price, the numbers come from the defaults below at the rate below.
The tables here are the full statement. Each block names where the number comes from and when it last moved.
The rate
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Survey rate (Freddie Mac PMMS, 30-year fixed), as of Oct 1, 2026 | 7.28% |
| Spread we add (set by our desk) | 1.00 points |
| Rounding | nearest 1/8 point |
| Resulting assumption on the long-term calculators | 8.25% |
| Assumption last reviewed | Oct 5, 2026 |
| Review cadence | quarterly, with data/market |
Every figure we publish computes at this assumption, and every page that states an assumption states this one. The long-term calculators open at it and let you change it; the short-term tools open at an illustrative rate for their own product, labeled as such. It is a math input, never a quote: your rate is set by the lending partner at application.
DSCR ranges
| Ratio | How the calculator reads it |
|---|---|
| 1.25 and above | Strong DSCR range |
| 1 to 1.25 | Within the range used by many DSCR programs |
| 0.75 to 1 | May fit a broader range of DSCR programs |
| Below 0.75 | Below the typical range used by many DSCR programs |
The ratio here is gross rent divided by PITIA, the residential lender convention. These are ranges many DSCR programs work within, not an approval decision: qualification, terms, and pricing are set by the lending partner at application.
Taxes, insurance, and closing costs
| Default | Value |
|---|---|
| Property tax (share of value, a year) | 1.10% |
| Insurance (a year) | $1,800 |
| Vacancy allowance (share of rent) | 5% |
| Property management (share of rent) | 8% |
| Repairs reserve (share of value, a year) | 1.00% |
| Origination fee (share of the loan) | 1.00% |
| Fixed closing costs | $2,500 |
These are the calculator’s defaults, used wherever a page says “the calculator’s default tax and insurance.” They are national placeholders, not per-market quotes; high-cost insurance markets run tighter than shown. The calculator itself lets you change every one of them.
Property tax is 1.10% a year of the value each tool is measuring: the purchase price on the DSCR, rental-property and cap-rate calculators, the after-repair value on the BRRRR calculator, and the completed value on the construction calculator.
Origination at 1.00% and $2,500 of additional closing costs belong to the DSCR calculator, because it computes the lender’s ratio. The other tools carry the cost model their own output needs: one all-in closing figure on the rental-property calculator, separate buy and refinance costs on BRRRR, and points on the short-term tools.
The fix-and-flip calculator folds taxes and insurance into a single monthly holding cost rather than separate lines, and the prorated-rent calculator models no property at all. Where a default has no matching field in a tool, it does not apply there.
Market data
| Source | Period |
|---|---|
| Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, SFR+condo | Aug 31, 2026 |
| Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), mid-tier, smoothed | Aug 31, 2026 |
| Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), bottom-tier, smoothed | Aug 31, 2026 |
Median and bottom-tier home values and rents are as of Aug 31, 2026, refreshed quarterly with the market-data pipeline. Where a table separates the median home from the bottom-tier home, both are the same source’s indexes for the same period. Rent is the metro’s typical rent; no rent is published by price tier.
Break-even, in plain English
Break-even is the highest price at which a metro’s typical rent still covers the full payment at a 1.00 DSCR, with the loan at the ceiling LTV the page names. If the home costs more than that, the loan the rent supports is smaller than the LTV allows. If the home costs less, the LTV is the limit.
Which limit governs: at the ceiling LTV, if the rent covers the new payment at 1.00, the LTV is the limit. When it does not, we compute two loans and take the larger: the largest loan the rent supports at a 1.00 ratio, and the loan at the reduced LTV the page’s step-down table assigns for that DSCR. The table says which one governed.
Two habits keep this honest. First, a page never prints a figure without the assumption behind it, and the assumption always matches this page because both render from the same constants. Second, where a page lets you move the rate yourself, the published figures and your figures are labeled apart, and the download carries your rate in its filename so the two cannot be confused for each other.
If a number on this site cannot be traced back to something on this page, that is a defect. Send it to us and it gets fixed at the source, not patched in place.
Founder, OneMoreDoor Capital
Andrew Pawlak is the founder of OneMoreDoor Capital, a business-purpose loan brokerage that arranges DSCR and other investor loans through its lending partners. He has spent 22 years in the mortgage industry on the marketing and technology side.
Questions Investors Ask
Is the rate shown on these pages a quote?
No. It is a documented math input: the Freddie Mac PMMS 30-year average plus a spread we set, rounded to the nearest eighth of a point. Every example on the site computes at that same assumption so figures can be compared across pages. Your rate is set by the lending partner at application and depends on your file.
How often do these numbers change?
The rate assumption and the market data are reviewed quarterly, with the data. When either moves, the pages that carry it are rebuilt, so a figure and the assumption behind it never disagree. The date each was last reviewed prints on this page.
Why does the same rent support different loans on different pages?
Because the loan a rent supports moves with the rate and the LTV in play. The cash-out pages run at the cash-out ceiling LTV and the purchase pages at the purchase LTV, each at the same documented rate assumption. Where a page lets you set your own rate, every figure on that page recomputes together.
Where does the market data come from?
Zillow's published indexes: the Observed Rent Index for typical rent, and the Home Value Index for both the mid-tier and the bottom-tier home. The source and period print under each table and on this page, and the tables carry a downloadable CSV of the underlying rows.
Ready to run your deal?
Tell us the property, the rent, and the plan. Your DSCR computed on the spot, with options priced by lending partners on the property's cash flow.
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