A DSCR loan qualifies on the property, not your paycheck. The lender divides the rent by the full monthly payment, and in Bexar County that payment carries more taxing units than most out of state buyers expect. Our Texas DSCR loan page covers the program and the statewide rules. We also ran the tax math for Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and El Paso. This post stays in one metro and goes a level deeper.

Everything here came from public sources on November 4, 2026: HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rents, the U.S. Census Bureau's QuickFacts (American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 and the July 2025 population estimates), the Texas Comptroller's 2025 tax rate lists, and the City of San Antonio's Development Services pages.

One rent, three very different counties

HUD sets one Fair Market Rent for the whole San Antonio, New Braunfels metro area, so a three bedroom in Seguin gets the same $1,864 benchmark as one inside the City of San Antonio. Prices do not work that way.

The last column is our arithmetic: twelve months of the $1,864 HUD rent divided by the median value. HUD's metro area for this rent includes Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe and Wilson counties.

Two things jump out. The City of San Antonio has the lowest median value and the lowest owner occupied rate in the table, so it has both the best rent to price ratio and the biggest renter pool. The city had 1,548,422 residents in the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Comal and Guadalupe are mostly owner occupied suburbs where the same benchmark rent is spread over a much more expensive house. And the benchmark itself moved up this year: the San Antonio metro three bedroom Fair Market Rent rose to $1,864 from $1,830 in FY2026, while the Houston and Dallas benchmarks fell.

Same HUD rent, more than $190,000 between the lowest and highest median value. In this metro the county line does more to your DSCR than the floor plan.

The school district line on your bill

The school district is the single biggest piece of a San Antonio tax bill, and the three big districts inside the city do not charge the same rate.

Every house in the city pays Bexar County (0.299999 per $100 for 2025), the City of San Antonio (0.541590), University Health and the Alamo Community College District. University Health, the Bexar County hospital district, reported a 2025 rate of 0.276235, and Alamo Colleges reported 0.149150. Then the school district gets added, and that is where addresses split.

Rates come from the Texas Comptroller's 2025 lists. The combined column is our addition and still leaves out any smaller special district on a given parcel. Outside Bexar County the stack changes: in New Braunfels, Comal County (0.305015), the City of New Braunfels (0.408936) and New Braunfels ISD (1.037700) add up to 1.751651. In Seguin, Guadalupe County (0.330400), the City of Seguin (0.513500) and Seguin ISD (1.082800) come to 1.926700.

So the suburbs carry a lower rate, but on a more expensive house. Lower rate times a bigger value is often a bigger bill.

What a San Antonio deal looks like

Put the median value in each area through one simple purchase and the city comes out ahead, with the suburbs well behind.

The setup: buy at the median value, 25% down, Freddie Mac's 30 year fixed average of 7.24% from October 29, 2026 as a reference rate (that survey tracks conventional loans and is not a DSCR rate or a rate we are quoting), the combined tax rate for that area, and $175 a month for insurance, which is an example number, not market data and not a quote. Rent is the $1,864 three bedroom HUD benchmark.

In Northside ISD on these assumptions, a three bedroom stops clearing 1.00 on a 30 year fixed somewhere around a $240,000 purchase price. Below that, the rent carries the house. Above it, you are either putting more down, using interest only, or counting on rent above the HUD figure.

Two bed or three bed

Buy the three bedroom. At the city median price, the HUD two bedroom rent of $1,441 covers only about 0.79 of the full payment in Northside ISD, against 1.02 for the three bedroom.

The price gap between a two and a three bedroom house is usually much smaller than the $423 a month rent gap HUD shows. That is the whole reason most San Antonio single family investors chase three bedroom, two bath houses. Run both in the calculator below with real listings and you will see it fast.

Run the DSCR on your deal

Short term rentals in San Antonio

You can run one inside the city, but you need a permit from Development Services and you owe hotel tax every month.

The City of San Antonio requires short term rental owners and operators to hold an STR permit and to remit state, county and city hotel occupancy tax. Per the city, the hotel occupancy tax is 9% for the City of San Antonio plus 2% for Bexar County, and an STR owner has to pay or report it every month, even when the amount is zero. Budget that before you compare a nightly rental to a 12 month lease.

On the financing side, whether a lender counts short term rental income, and how it documents it, is confirmed per file. Our breakdown of DSCR loans for Airbnb and short term rentals was written for Arizona, but the questions a lender asks are the same in Texas. Book a call and we will tell you how your San Antonio STR would be looked at.

Financing it with DSCR

For a long term San Antonio rental, the program terms that matter most are the low ratio floor, interest only and the light documentation.

• DSCR as low as 0.50. A Bexar County deal that lands at 0.93 is not off the table. Send it to us and we will lay out what it takes.
• 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 adds roughly 0.05 to 0.09 to the ratio.
• No reserves under $1 million and under 75% LTV. At the median values in this post, the loan sits far below the loan size line.
• No asset sourcing. No large deposit sourcing and no asset seasoning, and a 100% gift can cover the down payment, closing costs and reserves.
• New investors welcome. You do not need to own your home or show a rental history (no VOR).
• Cash out later. Cash out goes up to 80% LTV with no ownership seasoning, which is how the BRRRR method with a DSCR loan works on older San Antonio houses.

Deciding between a DSCR loan and a conventional investment loan? Our comparison of DSCR versus conventional for a rental lays out the trade, and it applies in Texas too. For everything else we place, see our loan programs.

Where this breaks down

It breaks down at the parcel level. A median is a midpoint, and a single school district boundary or special district can move one house far from it.

HUD Fair Market Rents also describe a standard rental across five counties, not your street. The appraiser's rent schedule and your lease are what the lender uses.

How I would shop it

Start with the tax bill and the bedroom count, then let the rent confirm it.

1. Pick the side of the county line. Cash flow points inside the city. Newer houses and owner heavy neighborhoods point to Comal or Guadalupe, with a bigger down payment.
2. Check the school district on every listing. SAISD, Northside and North East ISD carry different rates, and the bill follows the parcel, not the mailing address.
3. Stay near the break even price. On these assumptions that is around $240,000 for a three bedroom in Northside ISD. Your rate and insurance quote will move it.
4. Get a landlord insurance quote early. Do not let the premium show up after you are under contract.
5. Call two property managers. Ask what the exact house rents for and how long it would sit.
6. Send us the finalists. We will run each DSCR the way the lender will and tell you the down payment and payment.

Sources

All sources checked November 4, 2026. Data changes, so confirm before you rely on it.

1. HUD User, FY2027 Fair Market Rents, Bexar County, TX (San Antonio, New Braunfels HUD Metro FMR Area). 2 bed $1,441, 3 bed $1,864 (FY2026: $1,426 and $1,830); metro area includes Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe and Wilson counties
2. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Bexar County, San Antonio city, Comal County and Guadalupe County, Texas. Median value of owner occupied housing units, owner occupied rate and median gross rent, ACS 2020 to 2024; population estimate July 1, 2025 (V2025)
3. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Tax Rates and Levies (2025 county, city, school district and special district lists). 2025 total tax rates per $100: Bexar County 0.299999, City of San Antonio 0.541590, University Health System 0.276235, Alamo Community College District 0.149150, San Antonio ISD 1.155200, Northside ISD 1.004900, North East ISD 0.982200, Comal County 0.305015, City of New Braunfels 0.408936, New Braunfels ISD 1.037700, Guadalupe County 0.330400, City of Seguin 0.513500, Seguin ISD 1.082800
4. City of San Antonio Development Services, Short Term Rentals (STR). STR permits; hotel occupancy tax 9% City of San Antonio and 2% Bexar County, paid or reported monthly even if zero
5. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. 30 year fixed average 7.24% as of October 29, 2026 (reference only)

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