The quick read: A DSCR loan on a St. George rental is sized on the property's rent divided by the full monthly payment, not on your personal income. NerdWallet's DSCR guide (updated July 17, 2026) says lenders generally want a ratio of around 1.25 or higher and count principal, interest, taxes, insurance and HOA dues in the payment. Two St. George facts decide what goes into that payment. Washington County taxes a rental that is a tenant's primary residence on 55% of market value and a vacation or other transitory rental on 100%, so the tax line depends on how the property is used. And the City of St. George limits nightly rentals to the properties on its approved list, so most single-family rentals in Bloomington or near downtown are underwritten on long-term lease rent.
Typical minimum DSCR (NerdWallet, updated Jul 17, 2026): around 1.25 or higher
Credit score (NerdWallet, updated Jul 17, 2026): at least 620
Down payment (NerdWallet, updated Jul 17, 2026): at least 20%
Reserves (NerdWallet, updated Jul 17, 2026): three to six months of mortgage payments
Washington County tax basis, long-term tenant's primary residence: 55% of assessed market value
Washington County tax basis, vacation or transitory housing: 100% of assessed market value
How does a DSCR loan work on a St. George rental property?
A DSCR loan qualifies a rental in the city on the property's own cash flow rather than on your income, dividing the monthly rent by the full monthly payment of principal, interest, taxes, insurance and any HOA dues, so the lender reads the lease, the appraisal and the tax bill more closely than your tax returns.
NerdWallet's guide gives the formula as monthly rental income divided by the monthly loan payment and works an example: $3,000 of rent against a $2,500 payment is a DSCR of 1.2. It also lists a minimum loan amount of around $100,000, says most DSCR loans carry prepayment penalties, and says a DSCR loan can't be used to buy a fixer-upper or a primary residence. Run your own numbers through the DSCR calculator before you ask for quotes, and read the glossary entry on DSCR if the ratio is new to you.
Occupancy is the gate. The CFPB's official interpretation of Regulation Z (comment 3(a)-4) says credit to buy or improve rental property that is not owner-occupied is deemed business purpose regardless of the number of units, and that an owner who expects to occupy the property for more than 14 days in the coming year cannot treat it as non-owner-occupied. If you plan to live in the house, ask for a residential mortgage quote instead.
Which St. George rentals fit a DSCR loan, and which need a different plan?
A finished rental leased to a twelve-month tenant fits a DSCR loan cleanly in this market, while a nightly rental fits only where the City of St. George has approved that use, and a home still under construction in Little Valley or elsewhere needs a construction or bridge loan first and a DSCR refinance once it is leased.
Sort the property before you shop it:
- Bloomington and downtown single-family rentals. The standard case. The lender sizes on a long-term lease or on the appraiser's market rent, and the tax line uses the 55% basis once the tenant's occupancy is on record with the county.
- New construction in Little Valley or Desert Color's residential neighborhoods. No lease history yet. A DSCR lender will usually want a signed lease or an appraiser's rent schedule, and the county classification has to be set before the first tax bill reflects it.
- Rentals in Washington City, Santa Clara, Ivins or Hurricane. Each is its own city with its own licensing office, so the City of St. George rules below do not carry over. The county tax rule does, because all of them sit in Washington County.
- Nightly rentals. Only on the approved list, covered below, and taxed on the 100% basis.
If the rent you are counting depends on a use the city has not approved, the lender will not count it, so settle the use first. Our piece on which rent a DSCR lender uses covers the lease-versus-market-rent question in detail.
How does Utah's 45% residential exemption change the DSCR on a St. George rental?
Utah's 45% residential exemption applies to a home that is a full-time tenant's primary residence, so a rental here leased for 183 or more consecutive days is taxed on 55% of market value, while the same house rented nightly is taxed on 100%, raising the tax line about 1.82 times.
The law is specific. Utah Code section 59-2-103 allows residential property a 45% reduction in fair market value, extends it to part-year residential property used as a residence for 183 or more consecutive calendar days, and lets an owner of several residences claim it on each property that is the primary residence of a tenant. Section 59-2-102 says residential property does not include property used for transient residential use.
The Washington County Assessor's property valuation FAQ applies that rule locally. It says rental homes and apartments qualify as primary residences if the property is the primary residence of the renter, that qualified residential properties are taxed at 55% of assessed market value, and that second homes, vacation homes, time-shares and other transitory housing are taxed at 100%. The county's Notice of Property Valuation, mailed at the end of July, shows whether a parcel is classified Primary Residential or Non-Primary Residential.
The exemption is not automatic on a rental, and it will not follow a sale. The Utah State Tax Commission's primary residential exemption page defines a primary residence as a dwelling occupied as a primary domicile for at least 183 consecutive days in a calendar year by the owner-occupant or a full-time tenant. For a residential rental, it says the owner must submit an approved residential declaration signed by all owners, and the county assessor may ask for the current lease or the latest federal tax schedule showing rental income or loss.
The same page says that under section 59-2-103.5, as amended by 2026 Senate Bill 238, beginning January 1, 2027, owners must file Form TC-473A with the County Board of Equalization after any change in ownership interest, that the exemption does not automatically transfer to a new owner, and that applications are due on or before September 15. It says late applications cannot be accepted, and a property without a timely application may lose the exemption for that year and be taxed at 100% of market value. The Commission's FAQ for declaration recipients (revised July 30, 2025) adds that an owner must notify the county when a tenant moves out and is not replaced.
So a St. George investor who closes in 2027 or later has a hard date: file the TC-473A and the rental declaration, with the lease, before September 15. Do not reuse the seller's tax bill in the pro forma. Rebuild the tax line on the classification you will actually hold after closing, and give the lender the filing as evidence.
What does the DSCR math look like on an illustrative Bloomington single-family rental?
On an illustrative $480,000 Bloomington single-family rental leasing at $2,600 a month, a $312,000 loan at 7.25% produces a DSCR of about 1.10 with the residential exemption in place and about 1.05 without it, and the loan that rent supports at a 1.10 ratio falls by about $15,800.
Every figure in the table is an assumption chosen to show the mechanics, not a quote, a St. George rent survey or the county's actual levy. The tax line assumes a combined rate of 0.60% of taxable value; replace it with the parcel's actual rate from its tax notice.
| Line (our arithmetic, illustrative) | Long-term tenant, exemption on file | Exemption not in place |
|---|---|---|
| Line (our arithmetic, illustrative) Monthly rent | Long-term tenant, exemption on file $2,600.00 | Exemption not in place $2,600.00 |
| Line (our arithmetic, illustrative) Principal and interest, $312,000 at 7.25%, 30 years | Long-term tenant, exemption on file $2,128.39 | Exemption not in place $2,128.39 |
| Line (our arithmetic, illustrative) Taxable share of $480,000 value | Long-term tenant, exemption on file 55%, $264,000 | Exemption not in place 100%, $480,000 |
| Line (our arithmetic, illustrative) Monthly property tax at an assumed 0.60% | Long-term tenant, exemption on file $132.00 | Exemption not in place $240.00 |
| Line (our arithmetic, illustrative) Monthly insurance, assumed | Long-term tenant, exemption on file $110.00 | Exemption not in place $110.00 |
| Line (our arithmetic, illustrative) Total monthly payment | Long-term tenant, exemption on file $2,370.39 | Exemption not in place $2,478.39 |
| Line (our arithmetic, illustrative) DSCR | Long-term tenant, exemption on file 1.10 | Exemption not in place 1.05 |
| Line (our arithmetic, illustrative) Largest loan at a 1.10 DSCR | Long-term tenant, exemption on file about $311,000 | Exemption not in place about $295,200 |
The difference is $108 a month, and it is entirely the tax line. That is why a pro forma built on a seller's tax bill can mislead in either direction: a seller who lived in the house had the exemption, and a seller who ran it nightly did not. Rebuild the tax line on the use you will actually have, then show the lender the evidence for it.
Can you count nightly rental income on a St. George property?
You can count nightly rental income only on a property the city has approved for short-term rental use, because the City of St. George publishes an approved properties list and an approved areas map, and a lender should not count income from a use the city does not allow.
The city's Approved Short Term Rental Properties list names developments in Green Valley (including Las Palmas, Sports Village, The Vue and Worldmark), Entrada (Shinava Ridge units 24 to 39 only, and The Inn at Entrada), three communities at The Ledges, Bloomington Country Club Vacation Villas, Villas at Sun River where each plat specifies approved units, Redhawk, historic landmark properties as approved, and Desert Color, resort only. The city also posts an STR Approved Areas Map dated June 4, 2026.
Read that list carefully against the parcel. A house in Bloomington is not the same thing as a unit in Bloomington Country Club Vacation Villas, and a home in Desert Color's residential neighborhoods is not inside the resort. Where nightly use is approved, the property is transitory housing for tax purposes, so build the 100% tax basis into the payment, and ask each lender in writing how it underwrites nightly income: trailing twelve-month revenue, a projection, or long-term market rent.
What does the City of St. George require before a rental is leased?
A rental here needs a city rental dwelling business license before it is leased, and the checklist ties the license to the recorded owner, requires entity documents for an LLC, sets a thirty-day deadline after a sale, and can require a city inspection for three or more units, so build those steps into the closing timeline.
The city's Rental Dwelling License Checklist says:
- The name on the license must match the owner recorded on title with the Washington County Assessor.
- An LLC or corporation must provide entity documents naming all principals.
- A change of ownership requires a new application within thirty days.
- Three or more units may require an inspection by the City Code Enforcement Office before the license issues.
- An owner living outside Washington County must list a local agent or property manager.
The Rental Dwelling Inspection Checklist covers smoke detectors in every living space, plumbing, heating and cooling, locks and window screens, and requires one covered and one uncovered parking space per dwelling unit. A DSCR loan usually closes in an LLC, so the entity on the license, on title and on the loan should be the same one.
What does 2025 permit data say about St. George rental supply?
Census Bureau permit data shows that new building in the metro is dominated by single-family homes, with 2,497 one-unit buildings permitted in 2025 against 20 buildings of five or more units, which held 326 units, so most investors here are financing houses and small buildings rather than large complexes.
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey annual file for the St. George metro (CBSA 41100) also shows 5 two-unit buildings with 10 units and 6 three-and-four-unit buildings with 24 units in 2025. By our arithmetic the five-plus buildings averaged about 16 units each.
For a DSCR borrower that has two practical meanings. New single-family supply is the comparison set an appraiser will use for market rent, so expect the rent schedule to be built from nearby leased houses. And a duplex or fourplex is relatively scarce product, which makes the lease file, the city license and the tax classification the evidence that sets it apart.
How do you get a St. George DSCR loan placed with the right lender?
You get this kind of rental loan placed by sending every lender one complete package, with the lease or rent schedule, the parcel's tax classification, the city rental license status and the entity documents, so each term sheet prices the same deal. YieldStack is an AI-native commercial mortgage brokerage that arranges financing for commercial real estate investors.
YieldStack's software matches the property against 20,000+ loan programs, and human brokers then structure the request, negotiate for the borrower and carry the loan toward closing. That matters here because lenders differ on how they read a nightly rental, a new-construction rent schedule and a tax line that is about to change classification. Every credit decision is made by the lender; YieldStack arranges the introductions and negotiates on the borrower's side, and no loan, rate, or closing is guaranteed.
What to send:
- Purchase contract or current loan statement, address and parcel number
- Signed lease, or the appraiser's rent schedule for a vacant or new home
- The parcel's current classification from its valuation or tax notice
- City of St. George rental license, or the application in progress
- LLC documents naming all principals
- For an approved nightly property, twelve months of booking revenue
The St. George market hub and the Utah market hub collect our local material; neither is a promise of any particular lender or term. When the package is ready, send the deal for review. It costs Zero upfront to submit a deal and review offers; YieldStack's broker fee is 0.50–1.00% of the loan amount and is paid only at closing.
The bottom line
A DSCR loan on a St. George rental is sized on rent over the full payment, and the tax line is the local swing factor. Keep a long-term tenant and the county's 55% basis on file, count nightly income only on a city-approved property, and get the rental license and entity in order before you ask lenders to compete.