Texas vs Florida for DSCR in 2026 - how do you weigh the insurance vs property-tax tradeoff?

You have framed the tradeoff exactly right - in both states the killer cost goes straight into PITIA and squeezes DSCR. What we are seeing across our 2026 closings:

• Texas - the tax line is the swing factor, and the trap is qualifying on the seller's homesteaded basis. Underwriters use the reassessed non-homestead rate, which can add $300-400/mo of PITIA on a single-family. Budget for the reassessment up front.
• Florida - inland (Lakeland, Ocala, inland Jacksonville) is genuinely the sweet spot right now. Same low tax base as coastal FL, but insurance is a fraction of a coastal AE-zone premium. We have seen a private-flood or inland-wind quote flip a deal from 1.02 to 1.20+.

Net: inland Florida is penciling a touch better than the TX metros in 2026 on a pure DSCR basis, mostly because you can control the insurance line by staying away from the coast - whereas the Texas tax reassessment is harder to dodge. Happy to run a side-by-side on two specific addresses - (818) 447-7035.

I own in both. My San Antonio rentals get eaten alive by property tax every year at reassessment. My Ocala FL house has been boring in the best way - cheap insurance inland, and the taxes are nothing compared to Texas. Inland Florida gets my vote for 2026.