DSCR loans
Qualify on the property's cash flow, with no personal DTI test, and can commonly close in the name of an LLC. The most flexible way to hold a single rental in an entity.
Strategy · Entity Structure
Financing real estate under an LLC.
The short answer
Keep reading for the full breakdownConventional residential mortgages, the Golden Tickets, almost always require you to close in your personal name. The good news is that closing in your name is not the end of the story. Since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updated their rules in 2016, you can transfer the property after closing into an LLC you majority-own, without triggering the due-on-sale clause.
For investors who want their properties held in an entity from day one, usually for asset protection, the answer is a different set of loans. DSCR, commercial, and portfolio loans can be written so you borrow and close directly in the name of an LLC. The common tradeoff is a personal guarantee, and the right entity structure is a conversation for your attorney and CPA. The lending part, closing in the entity, is very doable.
01 ·Why It Works This Way
Why conventional wants your name
Conventional loans are sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and their guidelines are built around an individual qualifying on personal income and credit. That is why the loan typically closes in your name, not your entity's.
Closing in your name does not mean staying in your name. Since the agencies updated their rules in 2016, transferring title into an LLC after closing does not trigger the due-on-sale clause, as long as the borrower on the loan holds the majority ownership of the LLC. Close conventionally, then move the property into the entity for asset protection. Deliberate, allowed, and routine.
How entity-friendly loans differ
DSCR, commercial, and portfolio loans are not bound by the same agency rulebook. They are built for investors, and many can be written with the entity named on the loan from the start.
Because these loans lean on the property and the rents rather than your personal income, closing in the name of an LLC fits naturally. You are financing the asset, and the asset can be held by the entity that owns it.
02 ·The Options
The loans that close in an entity's name
These are the products that let the entity hold the loan, not just the title.
Commercial loans
For five units and up, written to an entity, and often available as true non-recourse, meaning the loan is held by the entity rather than you personally.
Portfolio and blanket loans
Several properties rolled into one loan under an entity, with cross-collateralization across them. One entity, one payment, one structure.
The personal guarantee
Even with the entity named on the loan, most loans still want a personal guarantee. The entity holds title and the loan, and you stand behind it. That is normal, and worth understanding up front.
03 ·At a Glance
Closing in an LLC, in short
Educational content, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and not a commitment to lend. Entity structure and asset protection should be reviewed with your own attorney and CPA. Eligibility, pricing, and terms vary by the property, the entity, credit, and the program, and are subject to change. All loans are subject to credit and underwriting approval. Not all applicants will qualify.
- Conventional / Golden Tickets
- Typically your personal name, not the entity
- DSCR loans
- Commonly close in the name of an LLC
- Commercial loans
- Written to an entity, often non-recourse
- Personal guarantee
- Usually required even when the entity holds the loan
- Entity structure itself
- A question for your attorney and CPA, not your lender
An investor sat on four unprotected rentals for years because a forum warned him that moving them into an LLC would get his loans called. The rule that scared him changed in 2016. He majority-owned the LLC, so the transfers were allowed all along.
Illustrative scenario. Details anonymized.
04 ·Do It On Purpose
The LLC is a tool, not a magic word
An LLC by itself does not protect anything. How it is formed, funded, and maintained is what matters, and that is your attorney's and CPA's domain, not your lender's. We will tell you which loans can close in the entity. We will not pretend to be your legal team.
If holding properties in an entity matters to you, build it on purpose from the first deal. Choose a loan that closes in the entity's name, understand the personal guarantee that usually comes with it, and let your professionals set up the structure correctly. Done in the right order, asset protection and financing do not fight each other.
05 ·FAQ
Questions, plainly answered
Yes, with the right loan. DSCR, commercial, and portfolio loans can commonly be written so the entity is named on the loan and the property closes in the name of the LLC.
Keep Going
Related reading
DSCR vs. Conventional Loans
The property-based loan that most often closes in the name of an entity.
Read the breakdownRental Portfolio Loans
Rolling multiple entity-held properties into one loan with one payment.
Read the breakdownScaling Past 10 Properties
Where entity structures fit as a portfolio grows past the conventional limit.
Read the breakdownHold it in the entity, from the first deal.
Twenty minutes with a real person. We map which loans close in the name of your LLC and how the guarantee works, so you can build the structure on purpose with your attorney and CPA.
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