As of August 14, 2026

How much can I borrow on a rental with 10 percent down?

On the investment property programs I use, financing reaches 90 percent of the purchase price with no mortgage insurance, qualified on the property’s rent rather than your tax returns. Most investors have never heard that sentence, because most of the market assumes a quarter down is the law of investment lending. It is not. It is a program choice, and the difference is not really about one deal. It is about how fast a portfolio can grow.

Why you were probably told no

Conventional wisdom in rental financing settled at 20 to 25 percent down for a reason: standard investment loans price high leverage harshly, and above a certain point they require mortgage insurance that is expensive and scarce on rentals. Most lenders quote the down payment their programs handle comfortably, and the quote hardens into a rule nobody questions. So investors ration their capital around a constraint that, on the right shelf, does not exist.

What is actually possible

This is business-purpose financing for investment property, and the underwriting is the property’s own arithmetic: does the rent cover the payment. When it does, leverage to 90 percent is available with no mortgage insurance attached, and prepayment terms come in several options so the structure can match your intended hold, whether that is a quick reposition or a decade of cash flow.

The reason this matters more than any rate conversation: the same capital deployed at 10 percent down instead of 25 buys roughly twice the doors. Same money, same market, a materially different portfolio five years out. That is the actual product here. The loan is just how you buy velocity.

The honest constraint is that the arithmetic gets harder as leverage rises. A bigger loan means a bigger payment, and the rent still has to cover it, so a property that clears the ratio at maximum leverage is a genuinely strong deal. In expensive coastal markets, many will not, and the math tends to work better in cash-flow markets, which is often where investors are buying anyway.

What it requires, honestly

Rent that truly covers the payment at the leverage you want, real reserves, and business purpose without exception: this is for rentals, never for a property you intend to occupy. Who should not do this: anyone treating maximum leverage as a way to stretch into a marginal deal. Thin equity means a soft market can leave you unable to refinance or sell without writing a check. Leverage this high is a tool for deliberate portfolio builders who understand they are trading cushion for speed, and it deserves that respect.

What to do next

Send me the deal: price, expected rent, taxes, insurance, and your hold plan. I will show you what it looks like at maximum leverage against a conventional structure, and tell you honestly which one your numbers support.