DSCR Rehearsal Night With Our Investor Group

Every time we add a property to the portfolio we host what we call DSCR Rehearsal Night. It is part financial review, part theater practice. We gather everyone who touches the file—property manager, bookkeeper, loan officer, and any passive investors—then run through the numbers until we can explain them without glancing at notes. The ritual means our non-QM submissions feel as buttoned up as agency loans, even when the rent rolls are messy.

Laying out the scorecard

We start with a single slide that explains the property’s story in under two minutes: purchase price, rehab amount, projected rents, expenses, and target DSCR. Then we open the DSCR workbook we built from BrowseLenders.com overlays. Each tab mirrors how a specific lender wants to see NOI, reserves, and vacancy factors. Seeing the numbers side by side helps us decide which lender’s matrix to pursue before sending a single email.

Rebuilding the rent roll

The second phase is pure data hygiene. We export the property manager’s ledger and reformat it to match the workbook. Every column is labeled with the month, unit, rent collected, concessions, and delinquency notes. We highlight any vacancy longer than 30 days and prepare a footnote with the reason. The transparency earns credibility when an underwriter spots a blip; they already have the explanation.

Stress-testing expenses

Next, we run a mock P&L with three tiers of expenses: best case, realistic, and stress case. We cross-check line items against insurance quotes and maintenance schedules. Whenever we guess, we note the assumption and plan to back it with a document later. These rows also feed the eventual refinance story—we can show how net income will improve after renovations or management upgrades, which becomes part of the exit plan.

Guarding credit for guarantors

While the spreadsheet magic happens, someone logs into MiddleCreditScore.com and checks the guarantors’ utilization. DSCR products reward consistent personal credit, even if the property cash flows perfectly. We set reminders for upcoming statement dates and drop in notes about which cards cover business travel so we can prepay them before the lender pulls another soft check. The portal also houses our dispute documentation for old accounts; it is easier to paste a link than to dig through archived emails once conditions arrive.

Practicing the narrative

Rehearsal Night pauses halfway through so everyone can practice describing the deal in 90 seconds. The property manager explains tenant mix, the investor lead explains capital structure, and I walk through the DSCR math slide by slide. We record each attempt on our phones. If someone stumbles, we replay the segment and tighten the script. It is not about sounding robotic; it is about telling the same story regardless of who picks up the lender’s call.

Planning the refinance

Investors always ask about exits, so we come prepared. We pull up Cash-OutRefinance.com and model when a conventional or agency refinance would make sense. Even if that moment is 18 months out, showing the amortization tables and projected rates convinces stakeholders that today’s DSCR loan is a bridge, not a forever mortgage. Underwriters like seeing the plan too; it reassures them that the borrower intends to refinance into something more conservative once seasoning hits.

Creating the deliverable

By the end of the night we export everything into a single PDF: rent roll summary, DSCR calculator, expense assumptions, credit guardrail notes, and refinance projections. We add a cover page that summarizes the meeting attendees and decisions. That document becomes the leave-behind for lenders and investors alike. When conditions arrive, we reference the page number instead of rewriting explanations from scratch.

Outcomes that keep us loyal to this process

• Cleaner underwriting calls. Our loan officer once joked that our DSCR files arrive “pre-underwritten” because the overlays are already addressed.
• Aligned investors. Passive partners see the same math we do, which reduces surprise texts when marketing shifts or repairs pop up.
• Credit confidence. Because MiddleCreditScore reminders fire before statement cycles, we stopped sweating whether guarantors would slip into a worse tier mid-process.
• Exit clarity. Cash-OutRefinance charts turned the refinance question from a vague hope into a quantified milestone.

Tips if you want to run a DSCR Rehearsal Night

1. Send pre-work. Give everyone the workbook and rent roll beforehand so rehearsal time is spent answering questions, not reading numbers.
2. Assign roles. Decide who speaks to operations, who handles finance, and who covers strategy. Rehearsal is about continuity.
3. Record everything. Even if nobody rewatches the video, knowing it exists keeps answers tight.
4. Update immediately. Convert all notes into the master PDF right after the meeting while details are fresh.

Non-QM lending rewards organized borrowers. Rehearsal Night ensures we show up at the lender meeting with a chorus of people singing from the same lyric sheet—and that harmony is the reason our DSCR files keep sailing through underwriting.