By state · South
Texas investor property lending
Texas charges no state income tax — a real, ongoing input into hold economics for a rental investor, even though it never appears inside a DSCR ratio itself. Property tax runs 1.9%, 1.07 points above the South average of 0.83%.
Carrying cost and DSCR
Texas's property tax rate in this dataset is 1.9% — 4 of the other 49 states run a higher rate, 44 run a lower one, and it comes in 1.07 points above the South average of 0.83%. That rate isn't decorative: it sets the monthly escrow line inside a DSCR loan's PITIA, and a higher escrow means a higher rent is needed to clear the same coverage ratio at the same purchase price. Run Texas's rate through the DSCR calculator against a real rent and price to see where a specific deal actually lands.
Texas also charges no state income tax, which doesn't touch the DSCR ratio itself but does change what an investor actually keeps from the rent that clears it.
What's specific to Texas
Texas no state income tax. Property tax burden among highest in nation. Strong investor activity statewide. Houston no zoning unique. Hurricane consideration on Gulf Coast.
This site's classifications for Texas
The four labels below are this site's own directional classification — not a lender's underwriting policy, a law firm's opinion, or a licensing determination. Each one states its basis; where the research note above doesn't specifically support a label, that's said plainly rather than dressed up.
DSCR-friendliness
highThis site classifies Texas's DSCR-friendliness as its own directional read, not a lender's underwriting policy or a legal standard. The basis is carrying cost: a property tax rate of 1.9% (1.07 points above the South average of 0.83%) feeds directly into the monthly PITIA a DSCR ratio is measured against, and Texas charges no state income tax, which helps hold economics even though it plays no part in the DSCR math itself. This dataset doesn't carry metro-level rent-to-price figures for Texas, so treat the label as directional rather than a verified number.
LLC-friendliness
highLLC-friendliness here reflects this site's general, directional read of the state's entity-formation and landlord-tenant posture. This dataset doesn't include state-specific LLC statute detail for Texas, so treat the label as directional, not legal guidance — confirm entity requirements with an attorney licensed in Texas.
Prepayment-penalty treatment
standardTexas is classified on prepayment-penalty treatment as this site's own directional read, not a citation to Texas law. Nothing in this dataset cites a specific statute or case; the label reflects a general sense of how restrictively the state treats prepayment penalties on business-purpose investor loans. Confirm the actual prepayment structure in the loan documents themselves, not from this label.
Short-term-rental rules
lenientThis dataset doesn't include STR-specific detail for Texas, so the label is directional only. STR ordinances change often and vary city by city — check current municipal and state rules directly before relying on this classification.
Top metros in Texas
The metros this dataset flags for investor activity in Texas: Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio. This directory doesn't publish metro-level pages, so none of those names link anywhere further — treat the list as context for where activity concentrates, not a ranked or exhaustive list.
Which lenders write loans in Texas?
This directory does not maintain a lender-by-state list. Only 13 of the 37 lenders tracked here publish a statesCovered figure at all, and that figure is a count of how many states a lender covers — not a list of which ones. Nothing in this dataset maps a specific lender to Texas. State licensing for private and hard money lenders is not uniform, so a lender active next door may or may not be licensed here. Confirm coverage directly with each lender in the lender directory.
South in context
Across the 14 South states in this dataset, the average property tax rate is 0.83% and the average top income tax rate is 3.92%. Texas runs 1.07 points above the South average of 0.83% on property tax.