Illustrative Scenario: A Tucson Small Business Owner Buys Her First Rental
“Angela” is a composite, hypothetical borrower profile — not a real, identified customer.
Angela runs a small landscaping business in Tucson. Like many self-employed borrowers, her tax returns showed significant write-offs that minimized her taxable income — great for her tax bill, but a common obstacle for conventional mortgage underwriting that relies on that same number.
The DSCR alternative
In this illustrative example, rather than trying to document two years of tax returns and explain add-backs to a conventional underwriter, Angela's matched lender evaluated the target property's own rental income against its debt service.
Illustrative numbers
The property, a single-family rental near central Tucson, was projected to rent for $1,650/month against an estimated $1,450 monthly payment — a DSCR of about 1.14 in this hypothetical scenario.
Why this matters for self-employed investors
Self-employed borrowers are one of the groups most commonly drawn to DSCR loans specifically because business tax write-offs that reduce taxable income don't need to be unwound and explained the way they would in conventional underwriting.
Get matched with a Tucson DSCR lender if you're self-employed and exploring your first rental purchase.