What is the maximum LTV?

80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance, 75% on a cash-out, on the current sheet.

Is LTV based on price or appraisal?

On a purchase, the lower of the two. On a refinance, the appraised value subject to seasoning.

Does a lower LTV always lower my rate?

It lowers it at each band edge. Within a band, a slightly smaller loan changes the payment but not the grid cell.

Can I add a second lien later?

That is between you and your first-lien note terms. Ask before you do it.

Does the 80% include financed points?

Anything added to the loan amount counts toward leverage.

LESSON 1 OF 64 MIN READ

How does leverage change my DSCR and my rate?

Leverage is the one lever that moves both sides of the deal at once: borrowing less lowers your rate on the grid and lowers your payment, which raises your DSCR and can move you into a better pricing band as well. On Silt's sheet the maximum is 80% of value on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 75% on a cash-out, with rate rising as leverage rises. The efficient point is rarely the maximum — it is the last dollar of loan before the ratio drops you a band.

THE NUMBERS

Minimum DSCR	0.75 (0.75–0.99 prices at +62.5 bps, 70% LTV cap)
Maximum LTV	80% purchase or rate-and-term · 75% cash-out
FICO floor	660 (below that the desk does not lend)
Loan size	$100K – $3M single · $10M portfolio
Reserves	6 months PITIA · 12 months on a portfolio
Prepay options	5-4-3-2-1 par · 3-2-1 +25 bps · 1-yr +50 bps · none +87.5 bps
Typical days to close	21–30 days from a signed term sheet
Rate sheet	Silt Rate Desk — Market Composite Sept 2026 · effective 2026-09-01

ILLUSTRATIVE — published program floors, not a quote or a commitment to lend. Subject to underwriting, appraisal and final credit approval.

How the grid is built

The pricing grid is a table with credit bands down one side and leverage bands across the other. Find your cell and you have the base rate; everything else on the sheet is an adjustment applied to it. Leverage bands step in increments, so the cost of leverage is not smooth — moving from 75.1% to 80% can cost the same as moving from 70% to 75%, and moving from 75.4% down to 75.0% can be free. Knowing where the band edges sit is worth more than negotiating.

Leverage moves the ratio too

A smaller loan means a smaller principal-and-interest payment, and PITIA is the denominator of the DSCR fraction. So each step down in leverage improves the ratio twice: once through the smaller balance and once through the lower rate that the smaller balance earns. That compounding is why a deal that fails at 80% often clears comfortably at 70% — and why sizing a thin file by trial and error from the top is the slow way to do it.

Purchase, rate-and-term and cash-out

Purchase and rate-and-term refinance both reach 80% on Silt's sheet. Cash-out caps at 75% and carries a 37.5 basis point adjustment, because the lender is releasing equity rather than preserving it. On a purchase, leverage is calculated against the lower of the contract price and the appraised value, which is why a low appraisal raises your cash requirement rather than lowering your rate.

Finding the efficient point

Work backwards. Decide the DSCR band you want to land in — 1.20 to price at par, 1.25 to earn the improvement — then solve for the payment that produces it, then solve for the loan amount that produces that payment at the rate the corresponding leverage band earns. It converges in two passes, because the rate and the loan amount depend on each other. This is exactly what the Max Loan Sizer does, and it is the reason the desk prices twice.

When maximum leverage is still right

If the ratio clears comfortably at the top of the grid, the extra basis points buy you capital to deploy elsewhere, and that trade often wins for an investor with more deals than cash. The case against maximum leverage is thin coverage: at 1.02 you have almost no margin for a vacancy, a roof or an insurance renewal. Coverage is a risk budget, not just a pricing input.

CLTV, second liens and seller financing

If there is another lien behind the first, the combined loan-to-value matters and must be disclosed. Seller carrybacks, partner notes and lines of credit secured by the property all count, and an undisclosed one discovered at title is a file-stopping event. Bring the whole capital stack to the desk on day one — it usually has an answer; it does not have an answer at day nineteen.

One property, three leverage points

Value / price	$400,000
Rent	$2,900 / mo · taxes + insurance $600 / mo
80% — $320,000 at 7.125% + band	PITIA ≈ $2,756 · DSCR ≈ 1.05
75% — $300,000 at 6.875% + band	PITIA ≈ $2,571 · DSCR ≈ 1.13
70% — $280,000 at 6.625%	PITIA ≈ $2,393 · DSCR ≈ 1.21 · par band
Cost of the last $40,000	≈ 0.16 of DSCR and a pricing band

Illustrative grid figures from the current sheet, rounded, before other adjustments. Not a quote.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU

Value evidence. Contract on a purchase, or recent comparables on a refinance.
Existing lien statements. Every recorded lien, including seller carrybacks.
Rent and expense figures. So the ratio can be solved at each leverage point.

FREQUENT QUESTIONS

What is the maximum LTV?: 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance, 75% on a cash-out, on the current sheet.
Is LTV based on price or appraisal?: On a purchase, the lower of the two. On a refinance, the appraised value subject to seasoning.
Does a lower LTV always lower my rate?: It lowers it at each band edge. Within a band, a slightly smaller loan changes the payment but not the grid cell.
Can I add a second lien later?: That is between you and your first-lien note terms. Ask before you do it.
Does the 80% include financed points?: Anything added to the loan amount counts toward leverage.

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