Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — The largest rowhome market in the country, a deep 2–4 unit inventory, an "eds and meds" tenant base, and price points that still pencil for cash flow.
DSCR Capital Partners closes Philadelphia DSCR loans on rowhomes, 2–4 unit conversions, condos, and small multifamily across the city and its Main Line and Delaware County suburbs. This guide covers the licensing and lead-safe paperwork, the neighborhoods where the math works, short-term rental limits, and a worked duplex example. Statewide rules and rate tiers are in our Pennsylvania DSCR loan guide.
Philadelphia Investor Snapshot — 2026
The attached brick rowhome is Philadelphia's default product, and much of the rental inventory is a rowhome or twin converted to two or three units. For DSCR purposes that helps: 2–4 unit properties qualify off combined rent, and duplexes price essentially like single-family (3–4 units carry a small adjustment and a 75% LTV cap). The tenant base is anchored by Penn, Drexel, Temple, Jefferson, CHOP, and Penn Medicine, plus Comcast. Our statewide guide pegs the Philadelphia median near $260K with market rent around $1,750.
Philadelphia DSCR Loan Snapshot
2026 Philadelphia DSCR Program Highlights
- Rates: From 6.375% on the strongest tier (780+ FICO, under 65% LTV); standard files price in the mid-7s — see the live rate sheet
- Max LTV: 80% on purchase (85% on limited programs at 740+ FICO), 75% on cash-out refinance
- Min FICO: 620 (best pricing at 740+)
- Min DSCR: 1.0 standard, 0.75 case-by-case at lower LTV
- Loan Amount: $100K–$15M
- Property Types: Rowhome / SFR, twin, 2–4 unit, condo, 5+ unit small multifamily
- Borrowers: Individual, LLC, foreign national, ITIN
- Reserves: Typically 3–6 months PITIA
- Close time: 21–30 days standard
Philadelphia Sub-Markets We Lend In
We close purchase, refinance, and cash-out DSCR loans across the city and surrounding counties. The underwriting note that comes up on each:
Fishtown / Kensington
Fishtown is the city's best-known appreciation story: new construction along Frankford Avenue and rents that support DSCRs on newer product. Kensington is block-by-block, and appraisers comp tightly. Many newer rowhomes carry a partial residential tax abatement, since scaled back — verify what remains before using the seller's tax bill in PITIA.
South Philadelphia
Point Breeze, East Passyunk, Pennsport, and Girard Estate offer classic two-story rowhomes at prices below Fishtown for comparable square footage. Watch for unpermitted basement or third-floor units; only legal units count toward qualifying rent.
West Philadelphia / University City
Penn, Drexel, and the hospitals drive the city's deepest renter pool. Victorian twins and three-story rowhomes west of 40th Street are frequently 2–4 units with low vacancy. Leases turn on the academic calendar; underwriting counts whole-unit market rent, not a sum of room rents.
Northeast Philadelphia
Mayfair, Fox Chase, Bustleton, and Rhawnhurst are quieter rowhome and twin neighborhoods with long tenancies, steady cash flow, modest appreciation, and fewer inspection surprises than the older stock near Center City.
Manayunk / Roxborough
Hillside neighborhoods along the Schuylkill with a Main Street restaurant strip, Regional Rail access, and a young-professional and student mix. Parking and steep lots are the recurring appraisal notes.
Main Line and Delaware County
The Main Line (Lower Merion, Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Wayne) is high-price, low-DSCR, strong-credit tenants — expect to size at 65–70% LTV to clear a 1.0. Delaware County (Upper Darby, Drexel Hill, Lansdowne, Media) is the opposite: lower entry prices, Northeast-style rowhomes and twins, and no city wage tax or city rental license, though many boroughs run their own rental registration — check the municipality.
Rental Licensing, Lead-Safe Rules, and Closing Taxes
None of this changes how the loan qualifies, but it affects whether the property can legally be rented and what you net. Check current city rules; these programs change.
- Rental License and Certificate of Rental Suitability. Every rental unit needs a city Rental License tied to the owner's Commercial Activity License, and each new lease requires a Certificate of Rental Suitability. Without a valid license a landlord can have trouble collecting rent or evicting, so refinance lenders increasingly ask to see it.
- Lead-safe certification. Older rental housing needs a lead-safe or lead-free certification as a condition of the license, regardless of the tenant's age. Nearly all rowhome stock predates 1978; budget the inspection and any remediation into acquisition costs.
- City taxes. Philadelphia layers a city wage tax and business taxes (BIRT and NPT) on top of Pennsylvania's flat 3.07% income tax, and the combined city + state realty transfer tax runs north of 4% of price versus 2% in most of the state. Custom splits it buyer/seller; it is negotiable. See our closing-cost guide.
- Tenant-protective climate. The city's Eviction Diversion Program generally requires landlords to attempt mediation before filing a nonpayment eviction, and evictions run longer than in most Sunbelt markets; Pennsylvania is also a judicial-foreclosure state. Keep 3–6 months of PITIA in reserves.
Worked Example: $300K Duplex in South Philadelphia
Illustrative assumptions only — round numbers chosen to show the math, not a quote:
- Purchase price: $300,000 (legal two-unit rowhome, both units leased)
- Loan amount (75% LTV): $225,000 ($75,000 down)
- Rate (illustrative, 30-year fixed, standard tier): 7.25%
- Principal & interest: ≈ $1,535/month
- Taxes + insurance (illustrative): $475/month
- PITIA: ≈ $2,010/month
- Qualifying rent (appraiser's rent schedule): $1,400 + $1,300 = $2,700/month
- DSCR: $2,700 ÷ $2,010 ≈ 1.34 — clears the 1.20+ threshold for best pricing at 75% LTV
Property taxes, which can reset after the city's periodic reassessments, and insurance on a century-old structure move this number most. Test your own assumptions in our DSCR calculator and see how taxes and insurance flow into PITIA.
Short-Term Rental Notes for Philadelphia
Philadelphia regulates STRs more tightly than most of Pennsylvania. Owner-occupied "limited lodging" and non-owner-occupied "visitor accommodations" are treated differently: the latter is generally a commercial use requiring zoning approval and a license, and it is not permitted in most residential zones. An investor STR usually needs mixed-use or commercial zoning, or runs instead as a furnished 30-day-plus rental, which we underwrite as a long-term rental. Check current city rules and zoning before contracting. Where an STR is legal, our STR DSCR program uses AirDNA full-year projections discounted to 75–80% as qualifying rent, at a 75% LTV cap.
Why Investors Choose DSCR Capital Partners for Philadelphia Files
- Wholesale lender access. We shop your file across 8–12 wholesale DSCR programs and route to whichever pricing wins.
- 21–30 day close. Philadelphia appraisals turn in 7–10 business days with our preferred AMC; clean files close on the early end.
- LLC, foreign national, ITIN, condo, multifamily — all in-house. Whatever the file complexity, we have a program that fits.
- One loan officer per file. Direct cell-phone access, no call center.
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Related Resources
- DSCR Loans in Pennsylvania Statewide Guide
- DSCR Loans in Pittsburgh, PA
- DSCR Loans for 2–4 Unit Properties
- 2026 DSCR Loan Requirements
- DSCR Loans for Airbnb / STR
- DSCR Cash-Out Refinance
DSCR Capital Partners is a brand of UTM Financial, LLC (NMLS #2591548), a licensed mortgage broker. Price, rent, tax, and insurance figures in the worked example are illustrative assumptions as of September 2026, not quotes, and vary by sub-market. Local licensing, tax, and short-term rental rules change; verify current requirements with the City of Philadelphia and your title company. DSCR ranges shown are typical; specific files may price differently. Equal Housing Lender. Not a loan commitment.