Every DSCR loan has one page that outranks all the others. Not the credit report, not the appraisal's value conclusion — the 1007 rent schedule, the appraiser's opinion of what your property rents for.
It's the income document of a no-income-doc loan: the numerator of your entire qualification. A 1007 that lands $200 high or low moves your ratio more than a half-point of rate ever will.
And yet most borrowers never think about it until it arrives — usually the moment it arrives low. Here's how the number gets made, how lenders actually use it, and the legitimate playbook for supporting it before and challenging it after.
What the 1007 Is (and Why DSCR Elevates It)
The Single-Family Comparable Rent Schedule is a standardized form the appraiser completes alongside the valuation: at least three comparable rental properties, adjusted for size, condition, location, and features — the rental market's mirror of the sales-comp grid — concluding in a single market rent opinion. On conventional loans it's a supporting exhibit.
On a DSCR loan it's load-bearing: your rent over your payment is the qualification (the formula), and the 1007 is the underwriter's independent source for the rent. Cost: roughly $150–$250 on top of the appraisal (single-family totals commonly $550–$800), same site visit, delivered together.
The 2–4 unit version is the small residential income report with per-unit comparables — same logic, more rows (see the multifamily guide).
Lease vs. 1007: Which Number Qualifies
| Situation | Typical Lender Treatment | Your Move |
|---|---|---|
| Leased at/near market | Lease governs, 1007 confirms | Provide the lease + deposit history |
| Leased above market | Many cap at 1007 market rent (or lower-of) | Don't build the deal on an outlier lease |
| Leased below market (inherited tenant) | Most qualify at the lease | Stabilize first or accept the number — see the under-rented trap |
| Vacant / new purchase | 1007 stands alone | Support it at inspection (below); mechanics in vacant property DSCR |
| Short-term rental | 1007 = LTR fallback; STR docs separate | The two-number strategy in STR qualification |
The pattern across every row: the conservative number usually governs. Underwrite your offer at the rent an appraiser can defend, not the one a listing agent promised — the half-mile-comp discipline every city guide on this site preaches exists precisely because the 1007 will enforce it later.
How the Appraiser Builds the Number
Demystified, because you can't support what you don't understand: the appraiser pulls comparable rentals — ideally recent, nearby, similar size/bed-bath/condition — from MLS rental closings, listing databases, and their own files, then adjusts each toward your property (a comp with a garage yours lacks adjusts down; smaller square footage adjusts up) and reconciles to a conclusion.
Where it gets imprecise is exactly where Florida investors live: renovated properties in transitioning neighborhoods (the comps are pre-renovation), unusual assets (canal-front, large lots, ADUs), and thin rental-comp markets (luxury single-family, rural edges). In those files the data you hand the appraiser at inspection isn't a courtesy — it's frequently the difference between a defensible number and a database artifact.
Supporting the Number (Before It Exists)
All of this is legitimate information-sharing, not influence: give the appraiser a one-page packet at inspection — the lease and rent roll if occupied; an upgrades list with dates and costs (new roof, kitchen, HVAC — condition adjustments need evidence); and, for unusual or transitioning properties, two or three genuinely comparable rentals with addresses, rents, and dates that you'd want in the grid.
Property managers are gold here: a manager's letter with the portfolio's actual rents on similar nearby units is exactly the data thin markets lack. What never works: round-number wishes, Zillow rent estimates presented as evidence, or pressure — appraiser independence rules are real, and crossing them kills files.
Complete data, professionally delivered, is the entire lawful playbook — and it prevents most of the fights the next section resolves.
When It Comes In Low: The Rescue Sequence
- 1. Run the math before the emotion. A 1007 $150 under your projection often still clears the ratio — check first. The sensitivity table tells you what each $100 of rent is worth (~0.04 of ratio on a typical file).
- 2. Reconsideration of value (ROV), done right. The formal channel: submit specific comparable rentals — addresses, actual rents, lease dates, similarity argument — that the appraiser plausibly missed. Success rates are meaningful when the evidence is real and near-zero when it's Zillow and adjectives. One shot; make it professional.
- 3. Restructure in parallel. While the ROV runs: interest-only (+0.08–0.12 of ratio), more down, or a seller-credit rate buydown — the standard stack, in its usual order.
- 4. Reprice or release. A defensible 1007 that kills the deal at your price is the market talking: renegotiate with the appraisal as leverage (sellers respond to documents), or use your financing contingency. The appraiser you wanted to fight in week two becomes the negotiator you thank in week three surprisingly often.
Where It Sits in Your Closing Clock
The appraisal-plus-1007 is the pacing item of nearly every DSCR closing: ordered day one, delivered in 5–10 days in normal Florida markets (longer in hurricane-season crunches and rural counties), and everything downstream — underwriting, conditions, the clear-to-close — waits on it.
The practical disciplines: order it the day the contract signs (waiting for "preliminary approval" burns your best week), have the support packet ready at inspection rather than after delivery, and on refinances, know that the same form governs — the BRRRR takeout's new rent conclusion is a 1007 event too. The full closing sequence is in the timeline guide.
The Bottom Line
The 1007 is the quiet decider of DSCR lending: an appraiser's rent opinion doing the job tax returns do everywhere else.
Respect it at offer time (underwrite the defensible rent, not the hopeful one), feed it at inspection (complete data, real comps, the upgrades list), and challenge it properly when it misses (evidence, not adjectives).
Do those three things and the most important page in your file becomes the most predictable one.
Want your rent projection stress-tested against what a 1007 will likely say — before you write the offer? Send the address and target rent; that screen takes us minutes and costs you nothing. Start here or call us at (800) 355-ALEX.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a 1007 rent schedule?
Does the lender use my lease or the 1007 market rent?
What does the 1007 cost and how long does it take?
What if the 1007 comes in lower than expected?
Does the 1007 work for Airbnb income?
Can I influence the appraiser's rent conclusion?
About the Author — Alex Doce, NMLS #13817
Alex Doce is the Principal Mortgage Broker at The Doce Mortgage Group (NMLS #2638131) in Fort Lauderdale, a nationally ranked top-1% originator with 38+ years in Florida lending, 7,000+ closings, and 1,500+ five-star reviews. He has financed Florida investment property through every market cycle since 1987. More about Alex →