🛏️ Short-Term Rental (STR) Loans
Financing for the cabin, the lake house, and the downtown unit that books every weekend.
Short-term rentals can out-earn long-term leases, but most lenders don’t know how to count the income. The right DSCR programs do: some use your actual 12-month booking history, some use third-party market rent data, and some fall back to the long-term rent on the appraisal. Tiaira knows which program fits which property — and which cities will let you operate at all.
Is this you?
Short-term rental loans tend to fit…
- Investors buying a lake, cabin, or vacation property to rent nightly
- Owners converting a long-term rental to STR who want to refinance on the new income
- Experienced hosts with a documented booking history
- Buyers in markets with STR-friendly ordinances
- Anyone who got told “we don’t count Airbnb income” by another lender
Questions investors actually ask
Short-term rental loans: straight answers
Can I get a DSCR loan on an Airbnb property?
Yes, on programs built for it. Short-term rental DSCR loans qualify the property on nightly-rental income — documented by a booking history or third-party market data — rather than a long-term lease. Not every DSCR lender allows STR, and the ones that do usually require more down payment.
How is short-term rental income calculated?
It depends on the program. Common approaches include averaging 12 months of actual payouts (minus platform fees), using a market rent report from a short-term rental data provider, or using the appraiser’s long-term rent schedule as a floor. Tiaira picks the program that treats your property most fairly.
Do local STR regulations affect the loan?
They can. Lenders want to know the property can legally operate as a short-term rental, so permits, zoning, and HOA rules get reviewed. Buy in a city that bans nightly rentals and the loan may have to be underwritten on long-term rent instead.
Can I buy a short-term rental with no hosting experience?
Some programs allow first-time hosts, often with a stricter ratio or lower LTV. If you already own a long-term rental, that landlord experience typically helps.
Is this different from a second-home loan?
Very. A second-home loan assumes you use the property yourself and limits rental activity; an STR investor loan assumes it’s a business. Misrepresenting the occupancy to get second-home pricing is fraud — Tiaira will put you in the correct loan.
Keep exploring
Conventional investor loans
The agency route: full income docs, often a lower rate than DSCR, and up to 10 financed properties.
Learn more →House hacking
Live in one unit, rent the rest. Low down payment because it’s your home — and the rent helps you qualify.
Learn more →DSCR Loans
Qualify on the property’s rent instead of your tax returns. The investor loan this whole site is built around.
Learn more →Not sure if short-term rental loans fit your deal?
That’s what Tiaira is for. One text, the realistic options priced side by side, zero pressure.