How does Airbnb short-term rental income qualify on a DSCR loan — host statements versus market rent, and what haircuts apply?

On DSCR programs, short-term rental income from platforms like Airbnb can generally be used to qualify, but investors differ on how they want that income documented and what discounts apply. Most programs will accept either an appraiser's opinion of market rent (via Form 1007 or a comparable rent schedule) or actual short-term rental history shown through host statements, booking platform statements, or a property management ledger, provided the property has an established rental history — typically 12 months of documented bookings. Verus, for example, allows qualifying income to be based on the greater or lesser of the appraiser's long-term rent estimate versus documented short-term rental income, depending on the specific program guidelines, and often applies a haircut to gross platform income to account for vacancy, cleaning fees, and platform costs before arriving at qualifying rent. Where a lender lacks sufficient seasoning of host statements, they may default to standard market rent from the appraisal, sometimes with a further discount applied to reflect the volatility of short-term rental income versus a signed long-term lease. Because these treatments vary meaningfully by investor — some requiring specific platform reporting formats, others capping the percentage of gross income counted — borrowers should confirm the specific documentation and haircut requirements with their loan officer before assuming projected Airbnb income qualifies at face value.