Over the past few weeks, our team funded three cash-out refinances. On paper, none of them fit inside a conventional lender's box. A borrower with a 607 credit score. A foreign national. A property with a DSCR of 0.75 — meaning the rent didn't fully cover the mortgage payment.
Any one of those factors is usually enough for a bank to pass. We closed all three. Here's how each deal came together, and what it means if your own situation looks like one of them.
Deal #1: $180,000 Cash-Out Refinance with a 607 Credit Score
Most conventional investment property loans want to see a credit score of 680 or higher. Fall below that and the conversation at a bank ends quickly, no matter how strong the property is.
This borrower came to us with a 607 score and real equity sitting in an investment property. The property was the story — not the credit report. Because DSCR-style lending qualifies the deal on the property's income rather than the borrower's personal financial profile, a credit score in the low 600s narrows the options but doesn't eliminate them.
We structured a $180,000 cash-out refinance and got it funded. The borrower walked away with capital to put back to work.
"A credit score in the 600s is not a dead end for investment property financing. It changes the terms, not the answer."
Deal #2: $226,100 Portfolio Cash-Out for a Foreign National — Four Properties, One Loan
Foreign national borrowers face two problems at a traditional bank: no US credit history and no US tax returns. Either one alone usually ends the conversation.
This investor owned four rental properties and wanted to pull cash out across the portfolio. Instead of four separate loans — four applications, four closings, four sets of fees — we structured a single portfolio cash-out refinance secured by all four properties at once.
No US credit file required. No tax returns. The properties and their rental income carried the deal, and the borrower closed on $226,100 in one transaction.
If you're investing in US real estate from abroad, portfolio lending lets you leverage everything you've built in one loan — without the documentation a bank would demand.
Deal #3: $730,000 Cash-Out Refinance at a 0.75 DSCR — With No Prepayment Penalty
DSCR stands for debt service coverage ratio: the property's rental income divided by its monthly loan payment. A DSCR of 1.0 means the rent exactly covers the payment. Most DSCR lenders want to see 1.0 or better, and many draw a hard line there.
This property came in at 0.75 — the rent covered about three-quarters of the proposed payment. A bank sees that number and declines. We saw a borrower with a plan, significant equity, and a reason the current rent didn't reflect the property's real potential.
We closed a $730,000 cash-out refinance at 73% loan-to-value — and structured it with no prepayment penalty, so when the property's income catches up, the borrower can refinance into better terms without paying a fee to exit.
A DSCR below 1.0 doesn't automatically kill a deal. Sub-1.0 DSCR programs exist, and the right structure — like waiving the prepayment penalty — keeps your future options open.
The Pattern Across All Three Deals
Three different borrowers. Three different obstacles. One common thread: a traditional lender looks for reasons to say no, and each of these files gave them one.
Our job is different. We work with a wide network of institutional private lenders, which means when one box doesn't fit, we go find the lender whose box does. Lower credit, foreign national status, properties that don't cash flow yet, portfolios that need consolidating — these aren't edge cases for us. They're Tuesday.
Have a Deal That Doesn't Fit the Box?
If you've been declined — or you're assuming you would be — talk to us before you shelve the deal.