I Closed My First Real Estate Investment Deal With LendingOne

As many of you know, we have a referral and marketing partnership with LendingOne — a national lender focused on real estate investors. I’ve hosted webinars with their team, invited our owners to attend, and they send a co-branded monthly newsletter to our database.

But I’ve always believed that trust has to be earned, not assumed. So from the very beginning of our partnership, I made it clear that before I recommended them to any of our owners, I wanted to do a deal with them myself.

On October 27, 2025, I did exactly that.

The Deal: Purchase + Rehab with a DSCR Loan

This was a Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) loan, a type of financing designed specifically for residential property investors. Instead of verifying your personal income, a DSCR loan focuses on whether the property itself generates enough income to cover the debt.

Here’s how my deal was structured:

• Purchase price: $70,000

• Down payment: 20%

• Rehab escrow: $40,000

• After-repair value (ARV): $160,000

• Timeline: 6 months to complete the rehab

• Exit plan: Refinance into a standard long-term mortgage once stabilized

It was a clean, straightforward project — but the financing process was definitely different from working with my local bank.

What Makes LendingOne Different

LendingOne does run a credit check, but they don’t look at W-2s or tax returns. They lend to business entities, not individuals. So if you operate through an LLC or other structure, be prepared to send everything about your company upfront — your ownership documents, bank statements, portfolio information, and operating history.

That was fine by me; my records already included everything they wanted. What threw me off was having to reformat all my data into their specific templates. I’ll admit, I resented that at first. I’m used to my local bank, which takes whatever spreadsheets I send without complaint.

But once I stepped back, I understood why it mattered. LendingOne puts real weight on investor experience and how well you present your financials. The cleaner and more complete your submission, the better your pricing and terms are likely to be.

Other Details Worth Noting

• I was able to use my preferred title company without any issues.

• There was some back-and-forth over insurance requirements, but we got it worked out.

• Overall, I was very happy with the experience and outcome, and I plan to do more deals with LendingOne in the future.

The entire process reinforced a simple truth: Professional presentation matters. Whether you’re borrowing from a local bank or a national lender, the quality of your documentation reflects the quality of your operation.

Want to See Exactly What They Look For?

I’m not going to post my personal documents here, but if you’re considering a DSCR loan or a similar financing structure, I’m happy to walk you through the details one-on-one.

If you’d like to see:

• My initial term sheet

• The Real Estate Owned (REO) spreadsheet format

• The construction budget form they required

Just contact me or reply to our latest Landlord Profitability Playbook email and we can set up a short Zoom call. I’ll share exactly what to expect — and how to get your portfolio ready for a lender like LendingOne.

Next Steps

I had a great experience and I highly recommend LendingOne. They understand real estate investors, they lend to business entities, and they offer the flexibility to scale your portfolio without jumping through the usual hoops.

I’m excited to have a new lending partner who sees the world the way professional landlords do — and I look forward to doing more deals with them in the future.

So, if you’d like to talk about how DSCR financing might work for your next acquisition or rehab project, email me directly at chris@roostrealestateco.com. I’ll show you what worked for me and help you determine if LendingOne is the right fit for your situation.

Disclosure: ROOST Real Estate Co. maintains a marketing partnership with LendingOne, a private lender specializing in investor and business-purpose real estate loans. ROOST Real Estate Co. may receive referral or marketing fees resulting from this relationship. This information is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute an offer of credit or mortgage services. LendingOne loans are intended for investment or business purposes only.