Personal name vs LLC on a DSCR
Something I see get asked a lot when purchasing an investment property. Whose name the loan is in and whose name the title is in are two separate questions with two separate answers.
On a DSCR loan the normal setup looks like this. The note and deed of trust get underwritten in your personal name. The title vests in your LLC at closing, with the lender's approval. Most lenders want the operating agreement showing you as managing member. Why it works that way: if the loan were truly underwritten to the business, it becomes a commercial credit decision. Business credit profile, business financials, heavier documentation, different pricing. Underwriting to you personally keeps it simpler and generally gets you better terms.
Here is the part people skip. You are still personally liable for the loan payments and debt itself. Almost every DSCR lender takes a personal guarantee even when the title sits in the entity. Non-recourse exists and it is priced accordingly. So the LLC is doing liability work on the property side, not getting you off the loan. Now the part that actually burns people, and it is the conventional side.
Fannie and Freddie do not lend to or record at the time of closing in LLCs. So if you buy with conventional financing, that loan is in your name and the title is recorded in your personal name. Plenty of people then deed the property into an LLC afterward and assume nothing happened.
The NOTE in the final loan docs should be looked over carefully. The transfer of the property clause, what most people call due on sale, gets triggered by that transfer. There are exceptions but those exceptions only apply to residential property with fewer than five units, and the list is transfers to a spouse or child, divorce, inheritance, a living trust where you stay the occupant, and subordinate liens. Moving property to an LLC is not on the list. In practice, lenders and servicers rarely call the loan while payments are current. Rarely is not never, and it is entirely their option, not yours.
What that means practically:
If entity ownership matters to you from day one, plan the financing around it instead of deeding it over later
If you already did the deed transfer, know what you did rather than assuming you are covered
Decide it with a real estate attorney in your state, not from a forum thread including this one
I would recommend if you have any questions about how to hold title, consult with your CPA or a real estate attorney or anyone with the licensed authority to give this advice.
- Quy Huynh