Las Sendas is a master-planned community in the far northeast corner of Mesa, built from the 1990s against the Usery Mountains with the Tonto National Forest and the Salt River recreation area close by. Hillside lots, real views, a golf course, and a location that is closer to Scottsdale and the 202 than most of Mesa.
As a rental market it has a specific profile: a higher price point than the Mesa average, which means a smaller tenant pool paying more, and a property type that is frequently larger and more view-oriented than a typical rental. That combination affects the ratio in ways worth understanding before you write.
How a DSCR loan sizes the deal
A DSCR loan qualifies the property, not you. No tax returns, no W-2s, no debt-to-income test on your personal income.
The ratio: gross monthly rent divided by the total monthly payment including principal, interest, taxes, insurance and association dues. Above 1.00 means the rent covers the payment, program minimums vary, and a stronger ratio generally earns better pricing. See How to Calculate DSCR.
Right tool for:
- Self-employed investors whose returns are deduction-heavy. The returns do not enter into it.
- Investors at the limits of conventional investor financing. See DSCR vs Conventional.
- Entity purchases. DSCR loans routinely vest in an LLC. See DSCR and LLC Vesting.
- Portfolio builders. See Building a Rental Portfolio With DSCR.
Still required: credit, down payment and reserves. See DSCR Credit and Reserve Requirements.
Where the ratio breaks in a community like this
The rent to price relationship is tighter at a higher price point. This is the central issue with investing in a premium community rather than a workforce-housing one. Rents do not scale proportionally with purchase prices. A house at twice the price of the Mesa median generally does not rent for twice the Mesa median rent, which means the ratio on a nicer property in a nicer community is frequently worse than on a plainer property somewhere less interesting.
That is not an argument against buying here. Appreciation, tenant quality and vacancy profile are real considerations that the ratio does not capture. But it does mean you should run the ratio before you fall in love with the view, and you should expect to put more down to make it work.
The appraiser's rent determination, not your pro forma. The underwriter uses a market rent determination from the appraiser, generally Form 1007. If it comes in under your assumption, the ratio drops and the loan resizes. In a community where few comparable rentals exist at that price point, the appraiser's rent comparables may be thin and the number may surprise you. Get a realistic estimate from someone who actually manages property in northeast Mesa first.
Association dues reduce your borrowing capacity directly. They sit on the payment side of the ratio. Get the complete figure for the specific address, including any sub-association, and ask about pending assessments.
Insurance on a hillside view property deserves a specific quote rather than an estimate.
Property items specific to Las Sendas
Hillside construction. Retaining walls, engineered foundations, drainage and in some cases significant hardscape. An appraiser and an inspector both look at these. Not disqualifying, worth budgeting for.
Larger homes mean larger maintenance. Pools, extensive landscaping on a slope, and multiple air conditioning units on a house built in the late 1990s or 2000s. For a rental held at a thin ratio, a capital expense you did not reserve for is the thing that actually hurts you, not the interest rate.
Age of systems. Much of the community is now twenty to thirty years old. Roofs, HVAC and water heaters are at or past replacement age across a lot of it.
Rental strategy and the rules that bind
Long term rental is the straightforward case and what DSCR programs are built for.
Short term rental requires checking two separate authorities. Arizona cities operate within a state framework that limits how far they can restrict short term rentals, and Mesa has its own licensing and tax registration requirements. Separately, the association's governing documents may restrict rental use regardless of what the city allows, and in a community like Las Sendas the association is frequently the binding constraint. Read the CC&Rs, do not rely on what the seller tells you, and confirm whether minimum lease terms apply. Some DSCR programs underwrite short term rental income and some will not. See Short-Term Rental DSCR.
Finance it as what it is. Occupancy misrepresentation is loan fraud, not a paperwork shortcut. See Second Home vs Investment.
Before you write in Las Sendas
- Run the ratio with a real rent estimate from a local manager, before you offer.
- Get the complete dues figure plus any pending assessment.
- Quote the insurance specifically, given the hillside and the home size.
- Read the CC&Rs on rental restrictions, including minimum lease terms.
- Budget for systems at replacement age, which on a thin ratio matters more than pricing.
- Have entity documents ready if vesting in an LLC.
- Confirm reserves after closing at the requirement for your total financed property count.
- Expect to put more down here than in a workforce rental market to reach the same ratio.
Why bring this file to us
- We read the documents ourselves, rather than handing them to a processor and waiting.
- Broker model. An unusual file needs multiple investors, not one bank's shelf.
- The full toolkit, agency and jumbo through bank statement, asset depletion, DSCR and no-ratio non-QM.
- You talk to the principal. Ricky Khamis is President of EPiQ Lending, NMLS #173141, lending in Arizona since 1999 and a 2025 Presidents Club Winner at CMG Home Loans. Direct line: (480) 999-9842.
EPiQ Lending is NMLS #1936984, at 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite A-101 in Scottsdale. Verify all of it before you trust any of it: Ricky's EPiQ Lending profile, the Scottsdale branch, and the license itself at NMLS Consumer Access. Hold every lender to that standard, including us.
Send me the file before you write an offer, and I will tell you what it actually supports.
Equal Housing Opportunity. This is general information, not a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. Program guidelines, eligibility requirements and documentation standards vary by investor and change over time. Rates, terms and program guidelines change and depend on credit approval, property appraisal and other qualifying factors. Not all applicants will qualify. Non-QM financing carries different pricing and terms than agency financing. Consult your tax advisor regarding your own situation.
Looking at a specific home? Send me the address and I will run the numbers: rickykhamis.com/analyze
