LendEval is the Loan Readiness Intelligence Platform — built around the core promise 'Know Before You Apply'. It is a free, educational pre-underwriting platform that scores your real estate or business loan profile against the Five C's of Credit — the same criteria institutional lenders use — without performing a credit inquiry or collecting private personal identifiers.

What are the Five C's of Credit in loan evaluation?

The Five C's of Credit are Character (credit history and score), Capacity (income and debt service ability via DTI or DSCR), Capital (down payment and reserves), Collateral (assets securing the loan), and Conditions (loan purpose, market environment, and industry factors). Lenders use this framework to evaluate every commercial and business loan application.

Does LendEval pull my credit or require a Social Security Number?

No. LendEval performs zero credit bureau inquiries (neither soft nor hard pulls). No Social Security Number (SSN) or Tax ID (EIN) is required. Your assessment is entirely private and educational.

What Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) do lenders require for commercial loans?

Most commercial lenders require a minimum DSCR of 1.20x to 1.25x, meaning property or business Net Operating Income must exceed annual debt service by at least 20% to 25%. SBA 7(a) guidelines typically look for a minimum 1.15x to 1.25x coverage.

How do commercial loan brokers use LendEval with their CRM?

Commercial loan brokers use LendEval to track client borrower evaluation drafts, receive automated alerts when client assessments remain idle for over 48 hours, and automatically push structured lead payloads via webhooks to CRMs including Zapier, Make, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho CRM with HMAC signature verification.

Is LendEval completely free to use?

Yes. LendEval is 100% free. Both the real estate loan readiness assessment and business loan eligibility assessment, as well as the rent roll extractor, SBA document checklist, and scenario modeling tools, are available at no cost.

What is Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR)?

DSCR measures the cash flow available to pay current debt obligations. It is calculated by dividing Net Operating Income (NOI) by total annual debt service (principal and interest). A ratio of 1.25x means the property or business produces $1.25 of net income for every $1.00 of debt payment.

What is a good DSCR for an SBA loan?

The Small Business Administration (SBA) SOP guidelines generally require a minimum DSCR of 1.15x for small business and commercial real estate loans, though preferred lenders often benchmark for 1.25x or higher.

What is the maximum Loan-to-Value (LTV) for investment properties?

Conventional lenders typically cap investment property LTV at 75% to 80% (requiring a 20% to 25% down payment). Commercial real estate loans generally range between 65% and 75% LTV.

Deterministic Lending Tools

Loan Underwriting & Financial Metric Calculators

Instant, mathematically exact calculations evaluated against commercial bank and SBA lending guidelines. No credit pull or account required.

Answer-First Canonical Definition

What is a good Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) for a commercial or SBA loan?

A Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) of 1.25x or higher is considered standard and acceptable by commercial banks and SBA underwriters. Ratios above 1.35x are classified as Prime, while ratios between 1.15x and 1.24x meet minimum SBA SOP guidelines but may trigger closer scrutiny.

Underwriting Formula:DSCR = Net Operating Income (NOI) / Annual Debt Service

Institutional Benchmarks

Prime Bank Tier≥ 1.35xBest rates and flexible loan covenants

SBA Standard Target1.20x – 1.34xMeets conventional and SBA preferred lender criteria

SBA Absolute Minimum1.15xMinimum statutory threshold under SBA guidelines

Lender Takeaway: Never submit debt projections below 1.15x without documented add-backs or secondary guarantor cash flow.

Governing Standard: SBA SOP 50 10 7.1 & OCC Commercial Credit GuidelinesOfficial Guidelines

Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR)

Formula: Net Operating Income (NOI) ÷ Annual Debt Obligations

Annual Net Operating Income (NOI) ($)

Gross rental or operating revenue minus operating expenses (excluding debt service and income taxes).

Total Annual Debt Service ($)

Total annual payments of principal and interest for all property or business debt.

Calculated DSCR

1.25x

Acceptable / Standard

Meets conventional bank and SBA underwriting guidelines (target ≥ 1.25x).

SBA Minimum:1.15x

Bank Conventional Target:1.25x

Cash Flow Surplus:$25,000 / yr

Next Step

Evaluate this DSCR in combination with your credit and collateral across the Five C's framework:

Run Full Business Assessment

Learn More about DSCR Underwriting

How Underwriters Use These Formulas

In commercial, SBA, and residential mortgage credit committees, underwriting is not subjective guesswork. Lenders rely on deterministic mathematical ratios to establish risk boundaries and capital adequacy.

DSCR in Commercial & SBA

Measures the primary repayment capacity. Lenders verify tax returns or CPA-reviewed financials to calculate true cash flow, adjusting for non-cash depreciation and interest add-backs.

LTV as Collateral Cushion

Determines how much equity the borrower risks before the lender suffers a loss in default. Lower LTVs directly reduce interest rate margins and loan guarantee fees.

DTI for Personal Guarantors

Ensures the business owner or property investor is not personally overleveraged. High personal debt payments frequently siphon capital away from business operations.