The Lead Law Is the Massachusetts Variable
Before the loan, understand the liability.
Massachusetts has the strictest residential lead paint regime in the country. Where most states require disclosure on pre-1978 housing, Massachusetts imposes an affirmative deleading obligation on owners of pre-1978 rental property when a child under six resides there and owner liability is strict, meaning it attaches regardless of whether you knew about the hazard or when you bought the property.
That matters enormously here because Massachusetts has some of the oldest housing stock in the United States. A very large share of the state’s rental inventory — including the triple-deckers that define investor markets in Boston, Worcester, Springfield, and the Merrimack Valley predates 1978 by decades.
Deleading a unit is not a small line item. Budget it seriously before you buy, engage a licensed deleading contractor for an estimate rather than guessing, and talk to a Massachusetts attorney about your exposure. A mortgage professional is not the right advisor on this, and no loan product changes the obligation.
With that understood, here is the financing picture.
The Lenders
Select Home Loans
Select Home Loans is a Non-QM mortgage broker (NMLS #2384002) writing 1099 investor loans in Massachusetts. Working across multiple wholesale investors matters here because Massachusetts values push a great many investment purchases past conforming limits, and appetite above that threshold varies considerably between shelves.
We quote DSCR and bank statement alternatives alongside the 1099 program so you can compare paths on the same property.
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Other lenders worth calling — listed in no particular order:
Mortgage Equity Partners A New England lender with Massachusetts operations, offering 1099-as-income, P&L only, DSCR, asset qualifier, and foreign national programs.
Capital Home Mortgage Massachusetts Massachusetts operations across 1099, bank statement, asset, and DSCR programs.
Mbanc A direct lender publishing Massachusetts investment property programs across bank statement, 1099, asset utilization, and DSCR, including no-ratio structures. Note they serve Massachusetts for investment property only; owner-occupied requires a different lender.
NQM Funding A wholesale Non-QM lender publishing Massachusetts-specific guidance, notably on retirement-account asset depletion for borrowers whose income profile looks light on paper. Broker channel.
Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions One of the largest dedicated Non-QM investors nationally, with a purpose-built 1099 income program. Reached through a broker.
Griffin Funding Publishes qualifying on 90 to 100 percent of gross 1099 income, 620 minimum credit, and loan amounts to $4 million.
Massachusetts’s local Non-QM bench is thinner than the state’s size suggests, and much of the volume here is written by national lenders through brokers. Verify current licensure before relying on any listing see the disclaimer at the end of this page.
How Qualifying Works
A 1099 loan qualifies you on income documented on your 1099 forms rather than the net profit shown after deductions. Appraisal, assets, credit, reserves, and ability-to-repay analysis all work normally.
Programs split into two camps. Some apply 90 percent or more of gross 1099 income with no expense deduction. Others apply an expense factor of 10 to 25 percent first.
On $180,000 of annual 1099 income:
| Method | Qualifying income |
|---|---|
| 90% of gross | $162,000/yr — $13,500/mo |
| Gross less 20% expense factor | $144,000/yr — $12,000/mo |
| Net profit from your tax return | frequently under $80,000 |
At Massachusetts prices, that spread between the first two rows often decides whether a purchase is reachable at all rather than just how much property you get. Push on it, and ask whether a CPA letter documenting your actual expense ratio moves the factor further.
Model the payment first with our mortgage calculators.
One year or two
One-year suits a consultant whose practice grew, or who recently moved from a firm to independent work with experience in the same field.
Two-year suits income tied to grant cycles, funding rounds, or project engagements which describes much of the Boston-area biotech and technology contracting workforce.
The two-year self-employment history requirement is separate from the two-year income lookback. Ask about both.
A note on equity compensation
A meaningful number of Massachusetts borrowers hold a mix of 1099 income, K-1 distributions, and equity compensation. These document differently, and a program that reads 1099s alone may capture only part of your picture. Flag the full income structure at the outset an asset utilization or combined approach frequently qualifies these borrowers for substantially more.
Massachusetts’s 1099 Population
Biotech and life sciences consultants across the Cambridge, Boston, and 128-corridor cluster, often with grant, contract, and equity income at once.
Technology contractors and independent engineers, a deep pool with generally low overhead the best fit for gross-receipts qualifying.
Healthcare independents around the Boston teaching hospital systems.
Construction and specialty trades, working an old housing stock with genuine restoration demand and a compressed winter season.
Real estate agents and brokers, where high transaction values make commission income lumpy.
Cape and islands seasonal operators hospitality, charter, and trades whose year compresses into a summer window.
Massachusetts Investment Markets
Boston metro carries the highest values and the weakest DSCR ratios in the state. Prices have run far ahead of rents; many properties will not clear a 1.0 ratio regardless of how well you buy. This is the core case for 1099 qualifying here.
Worcester, Springfield, and the Merrimack Valley offer better rent-to-price ratios, and triple-decker multi-unit inventory where combined rents across units genuinely can clear DSCR. If you want DSCR in Massachusetts, multi-unit outside Boston is where it works.
Cape Cod and the islands are seasonal STR markets. Several towns regulate short-term rentals and Massachusetts applies a state room occupancy excise to short-term rentals verify both the local ordinance and the tax treatment before you model returns.
Other Massachusetts Specifics
Non-judicial foreclosure by power of sale is available in Massachusetts, which is comparatively favorable for investors and supports better LTVs than in judicial New England states like Connecticut and Maine.
Triple-deckers are the characteristic asset and are generally financeable as 2-4 unit residential, but confirm your lender’s appetite and be realistic about the condition of a hundred-year-old building.
High property taxes vary sharply by municipality, and because taxes sit inside both your DTI and any DSCR calculation, the town matters. Pull the actual rate before modeling.
Tenant protections are meaningful. Massachusetts has substantive requirements around security deposits, notice, and eviction procedure. Investors coming from more landlord-friendly states should get local counsel.
Investment Property Terms
- Down payment: 20–25 percent typical, with more expected above conforming
- Credit: 620 floor at most investors; real improvements at 680, 700, 740
- Reserves: 6–12 months PITIA, large in absolute dollars at Massachusetts values
- Prepayment penalties: common on investment property, typically 1–3 years, often buyable at a quarter to a half point
Compare with our purchase loan options, refinance loan options, and jumbo loans.
1099 or DSCR?
Use a 1099 loan in Boston metro, where the ratio simply does not work on most single-family and condo purchases.
Use DSCR on multi-unit outside Boston Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, Lawrence, New Bedford — where combined rents across a triple-decker’s units overcome both the price and the tax burden.
On the Cape and islands, it depends entirely on how seasonal rent annualizes. Run both.
If you already hold Massachusetts rentals and want equity out, a DSCR refinance is usually cleaner than a cash-out on personal income.
Questions to Ask
- Have you financed a pre-1978 Massachusetts rental recently, and did the Lead Law status affect underwriting?
- Do you qualify on gross 1099 income, or apply an expense factor?
- Part of my income is K-1 or equity comp how does that document alongside the 1099s?
- What is your appetite for triple-deckers?
- What is the municipal tax rate here, and what does it do to the DSCR?
- Can you quote DSCR and bank statement on the same property?
More from Select Home Loans: DSCR loans · Jumbo loans · Learning Center · About Select
Disclaimer
The lenders described on this page are listed in no particular order. Select Home Loans appears first because we publish this page and originate these loans; we have a commercial interest in this category. No lender listed has paid for placement.
This page reflects our opinion based on publicly available information at the time of writing. It is general information, not a recommendation, an endorsement, or an offer of credit. Lender programs, guidelines, licensure, pricing, and availability change frequently and without notice, and nothing here guarantees that any lender is currently licensed in Massachusetts, currently offers the program described, or will approve your file.
Nothing here is legal advice. The Massachusetts Lead Law imposes obligations and liability on rental property owners that are outside the scope of mortgage advice; consult a Massachusetts attorney and a licensed deleading professional. Municipal tax rates, short-term rental ordinances, and tenant law requirements vary and should be verified independently. Consult a licensed mortgage professional and where appropriate a tax advisor, attorney, or financial advisor before making any borrowing decision. Verify any lender’s licensure through NMLS Consumer Access at nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
Select Home Loans, NMLS #2384002. Equal Housing Opportunity.
