Our Georgia DSCR loan page covers the statewide side: landlord rules, closing costs and LLC fees. We also ranked the state's main markets in our best Georgia cities for rental property post, where Augusta finished near the top. This one zooms in on the Augusta area and the choice most buyers here face: Richmond County or Columbia County.

Every figure below was checked on November 5, 2026: HUD User's FY2027 Fair Market Rents, Census Bureau QuickFacts, the Georgia Department of Revenue's 2025 millage digest and Augusta's own 2025 tax digest.

Two counties, one rent

HUD gives one rent benchmark to the whole Augusta area, which spans Burke, Columbia, McDuffie and Richmond counties in Georgia plus Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina. Home values inside that area are nowhere near uniform.

Augusta and Richmond County are nearly the same place on paper because the city and county run as one consolidated government. Columbia County is the suburb next door, and Columbia County's owner occupied rate is 78.1%, so most households there own. A rental in Columbia County is competing for a smaller pool of renters, usually at a higher price point.

The benchmark also moved the right way this year. The Augusta metro three bedroom Fair Market Rent rose to $1,672 from $1,627 in FY2026, the two bedroom rose to $1,329 from $1,261, and the four bedroom rose to $2,035 from $1,984.

Same HUD rent on both sides of the county line, and a $126,900 gap in median value. That gap is your DSCR.

What the tax bill looks like

Georgia taxes property on 40% of market value times the local mills, and in 2025 the Augusta urban district carried 28.921 mills against 23.836 in unincorporated Columbia County.

Augusta's county levy has an unusual feature worth knowing. Its 2025 tax digest shows a gross maintenance and operations rate of 11.872 mills, cut to a net 6.277 by a 5.595 mill rollback funded by the local option sales tax. Then the pieces stack up by district:

Mill rates are from the Georgia Department of Revenue's 2025 digest; the totals and dollar figures are my arithmetic and leave out any special district on a single parcel. Notice the trap: Columbia County has the lower rate and still the bigger bill, because the houses cost more.

The DSCR math by area

Run the median house in each area through one simple purchase and Richmond County clears 1.00 easily, while Columbia County needs a four bedroom or a bigger down payment.

The setup: buy at the median value with 25% down, Freddie Mac's 30 year fixed average of 7.18% from November 5, 2026 as a reference rate (it tracks conventional loans and is not a DSCR rate or a rate we are quoting), the 2025 mills above, and $150 a month of insurance, which is an example number, not market data and not a quote. Rent is the HUD three bedroom benchmark of $1,672.

On these assumptions, a three bedroom in the Augusta urban district keeps clearing 1.00 on a 30 year fixed up to roughly a $252,000 purchase price. In unincorporated Columbia County the same rent stops clearing 1.00 at roughly $260,000, which is below that county's median.

Which bedroom count to buy

In the city, the three bedroom is the sweet spot. In Columbia County, the four bedroom is what makes the ratio work.

At the Augusta median price, the HUD two bedroom rent of $1,329 still covers about 1.08 of the full payment, so even a smaller house can carry itself. In Columbia County, a four bedroom at the $2,035 benchmark lands around 1.05 at the median value and keeps clearing 1.00 up to roughly $321,000. That matches what the suburb is built for: bigger, newer houses rented to families.

Run the DSCR on your deal

Masters week and the 15 day rule

Plenty of Augusta homeowners rent their own house out for the week of the Masters, and the IRS has a rule that fits that exactly. It is a homeowner rule, though, not a plan for an investment property.

Per IRS Topic 415, if you use a dwelling unit as a residence and rent it for fewer than 15 days, you do not report that rental income and you do not deduct rental expenses. That rule is often nicknamed after Augusta. It does not apply to a full time rental bought with a DSCR loan, where the income is reported and the expenses are deducted as usual. Ask your tax professional how it fits your situation.

If you want a rental you run as a short term rental all year, how a lender counts that income is confirmed per file, and local rules in Augusta and Columbia County should be checked with each government's planning office before you buy. Our breakdown of DSCR loans for short term rentals was written for Arizona, but the questions a lender asks are the same here.

Financing an Augusta rental

On Augusta's price points, the terms that matter most are the low ratio floor, the light paperwork and the gift rules.

• DSCR as low as 0.50. A Columbia County three bedroom at 0.86 is still a deal we can look at.
• Interest only. Ten years interest only on a 40 year term, or a 30 year term with interest only, up to 70% LTV on a purchase. In the table above it lifts the ratio by about 0.09 to 0.14.
• No reserves under $1 million and under 75% LTV. At a 25% down payment you sit exactly at 75%, which is not under it. Put a little more down and the reserve question can go away.
• 100% gift allowed. A gift can cover the down payment, closing costs and reserves. Our guide to DSCR gift funds walks through it.
• No asset sourcing. No large deposit sourcing and no asset seasoning.
• First rental is fine. No primary residence ownership and no rental history (VOR) required.
• Cash out later. Up to 80% LTV with no ownership seasoning once the house is fixed and rented.

For everything else we place, see our loan programs.

Where it goes wrong

It goes wrong on condition and on the tax district, not on the rent.

HUD's benchmark also covers six counties in two states. The appraiser's rent schedule and your signed lease are what the lender uses, so treat $1,672 as the starting point.

My Augusta checklist

Decide what you are buying for, then check the parcel.

1. Cash flow or a newer house? Cash flow points to Richmond County. Newer houses and an owner heavy neighborhood point to Columbia County with more down.
2. Confirm the tax district. The Augusta urban services district, the rest of Richmond County, unincorporated Columbia County and Grovetown all carry different mills.
3. Match bedrooms to the county. Three bedrooms in the city, four in Columbia County.
4. Stay under the break even price. Roughly $252,000 for a city three bedroom on these assumptions; your rate and insurance quote will move it.
5. Get an insurance quote and an inspection early. Both change the payment and the plan.
6. Send us the address. We run the DSCR the way the lender will and show you the down payment and payment.

Sources

All sources checked November 5, 2026. Data changes, so confirm before you rely on it.

1. HUD User, FY2027 Fair Market Rents, Richmond County, GA (Augusta Richmond County GA SC HUD Metro FMR Area). 1 bed $1,202, 2 bed $1,329, 3 bed $1,672, 4 bed $2,035 (FY2026: $1,114, $1,261, $1,627, $1,984); area includes Burke, Columbia, McDuffie and Richmond counties, GA, and Aiken and Edgefield counties, SC
2. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Richmond County, Columbia County and Augusta Richmond County consolidated government (balance), Georgia. Median value of owner occupied housing units, owner occupied rate and median gross rent, ACS 2020 to 2024; population estimates July 1, 2025 (V2025)
3. Georgia Department of Revenue, 2025 Georgia County Ad Valorem Tax Digest Millage Rates. Assessment at 40% of fair market value; 2025 mills: Richmond County incorporated 6.277, Augusta urban service 3.403, county fire unincorporated 1.358, countywide capital outlay 0.501, school 18.740; Columbia County unincorporated 4.360 plus 0.454 bond, county fire district unincorporated 2.788, Grovetown 6.948, school 16.234
4. Augusta, Georgia, 2025 Tax Digest and 5 Year History. 2025 gross maintenance and operation millage 11.8720, less local option sales tax rollback 5.5950, net 6.2770
5. Internal Revenue Service, Topic no. 415, Renting residential and vacation property. A dwelling unit used as a residence and rented for fewer than 15 days: rental income not reported, expenses not deducted as rental expenses
6. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. 30 year fixed average 7.18% as of November 5, 2026 (reference only)

Frequently asked questions