Three ways to finance several Maryland rentals

One loan per property

The simplest approach is a separate DSCR loan on each rental. Each property qualifies on its own rent, and you can refinance or sell one without touching the others. The trade-off is repeated closing costs and paperwork, including a separate appraisal and title search for each property.

Blanket or portfolio loan

Some wholesale programs offer a single loan secured by several rentals. The lender looks at the combined rent of the portfolio against the combined payment, which can let a strong property support a weaker one. Blanket loans usually include release provisions that set the terms for selling or refinancing one property out of the group. They are common for investors with several similar Baltimore rowhouses, a set of townhomes near Fort Meade or a group of low-balance rentals in Western Maryland that would fall under minimum loan sizes on their own.

Small multifamily (5-10 units)

Buildings with five to ten units typically move from residential DSCR programs to small-balance commercial programs that review the property's net operating income, rent roll and expenses. They are still business-purpose loans for non-owner-occupied property, and the broker process is similar.

How combined rent is reviewed

For a portfolio, lenders typically gather a rent roll showing each property, the tenant's lease term and rent, and any vacancies. Appraisals or valuation reports support value and market rent. The combined ratio compares total rent with total payments, including each property's Maryland taxes, insurance and dues.

Example with user-style inputs: four Baltimore County rentals bring in $1,500, $1,650, $1,400 and $1,800 a month, or $6,350 in total. If the combined payment from your quote, taxes and insurance is $5,200, the portfolio DSCR is about 1.22. If one house is vacant at application, the lender may use market rent or may require it to be leased; each program sets its own rule.

Maryland portfolio details to prepare

  • A rent roll and current leases for every property.
  • SDAT assessments and tax bills for each property, noting which jurisdiction each sits in.
  • Insurance for each property, or a blanket landlord policy.
  • Baltimore City or county rental licenses and MDE lead registrations where they apply. See the lead-paint guide.
  • Entity documents for the borrowing LLC, in good standing with SDAT. See the Maryland LLC guide.
  • Any ground rents on older Baltimore-area properties. See the ground rent guide.

Cash-out across a portfolio

Investors with seasoned rentals often use a portfolio refinance to pull business-purpose cash for the next acquisition. The combined loan grows, so the combined ratio falls; keep a margin. Compare the approach with property-by-property cash-out refinances and with cash-out DSCR vs. a HELOC. For buildings with two to four units, see 2-4 unit DSCR loans.

Questions Maryland investors ask

Can I finance several Maryland rentals with one DSCR loan?

Some wholesale programs offer blanket or portfolio loans secured by several rentals, reviewed on combined rent and combined payment. Others finance each property separately.

Can I sell one house out of a blanket DSCR loan?

Usually, under the loan's release provisions, which set the terms for removing a property from the group.

Do 5-10 unit Maryland buildings qualify for DSCR financing?

They usually go through small-balance commercial programs that look at net operating income. They are still business-purpose loans.