All Programs and Guides on Investor Loans Tennessee

By Mike Certo, Cornerstone First Mortgage · NMLS #260555 · Updated July 30, 2026

Every guide on this site, one screen. Program pages carry the mechanics; city pages carry the local numbers and permit rules; all figures are dated and registry-verified.

Key takeaways

DSCR loans qualify on the property's rent versus its full monthly payment (PITIA): 20-25% down, credit floors commonly 620-660, no tax returns. Non-QM, business-purpose financing, not agency (Fannie/Freddie) loans.
A Tennessee LLC holding rental property owes franchise and excise tax by default, 6.5% excise on net earnings plus 0.25% franchise on net worth ($100 minimum), unless it claims the FONCE exemption; confirm with your CPA.
Tennessee assesses residential rentals at 25% of value but any 2+ unit or non-owner short-term rental at 40%; there is no state income tax, as the Hall tax ended January 1, 2021.
Short-term-rental permits and T.C.A. §13-7-603 grandfathering are non-transferable and die when a property sells; deeding a Nashville rental into an LLC cancels its permit (as of July 2026).

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Loan programs

DSCR loans: qualify on the property's rent; no tax returns; LLC-friendly.
Investor cash-out refinance: no state constitutional cash-out limits; BRRRR seasoning timelines.
Short-term rental loans: Airbnb and cabin financing with honest income-documentation lanes.
LLC loans + franchise-and-excise tax: close in the entity; the F&E and FONCE picture; due-on-sale rules.
Portfolio + 2-4 unit + foreign national: the 10-loan conventional cap and what is past it.
Bank-statement loans: self-employed qualifying from deposits after an expense factor.
1031 replacement financing: closing inside the 45/180-day clocks.

City and market guides

Memphis: the top U.S. investor metro by purchase share; the Shelby tax caveat.
Nashville: two STR permit types and the LLC-transfer permit trap.
Smoky Mountain cabins: Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville; the 40% cabin tax.

Tennessee reference

STR rules by city: the six-market status table, verified July 2026.
Rental property taxes: the 25% vs 40% assessment, no income tax, transfer and recordation taxes.

Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content, not a loan commitment and not legal or tax advice. Tennessee franchise and excise tax, FONCE eligibility, property-tax classification, and city short-term-rental rules change and depend on your facts; confirm your situation with your CPA, a Tennessee attorney, and the city before you buy. Loans are subject to buyer and property qualification.

What the national numbers mean for Tennessee investors

National data sets the backdrop; what matters locally is how Tennessee’s own tax treatment, foreclosure timeline and rent-to-price math interact with it. Read the figures below alongside the Tennessee specifics on this site.

Grand Rapids has climbed to 53.4% “overvalued”—among the highest readings in the entire country, Midwest or otherwise. ResiClub, “Is the Midwest getting frothy?”
Its “overvaluation” reading has barely moved—32.8% in Q2 2022 to 33.7% in Q2 2026—so on the Moody's measure alone, it doesn't look dramatically frothier than it did at the tail end of the Pandemic Housing Boom. ResiClub, “Is the Midwest getting frothy?”

Market data courtesy of ResiClub (Lance Lambert). Figures are as published; confirm current data at the source.

Official sources for Tennessee investors

Figures and rules on this page trace to the agencies and codes below. Tennessee programs and assessment rules change, so confirm current figures at the source before you rely on one.