Read This Before You Read Anything About Loans
Washington DC probably has the highest concentration of 1099 income of any jurisdiction in the country. Federal contracting, policy consulting, government relations, association work, legal and communications freelancing the District runs on independent contracts, and a very large number of high earners here have tax returns that look nothing like their actual income.
That makes DC an obvious market for 1099 lending. It is also the most investor-unfriendly jurisdiction on this list, and the reason has nothing to do with financing.
TOPA — the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act — gives tenants a right of first refusal when an owner sells residential property. For tenant-occupied property, this can delay a sale by months, and tenants can assign that right to a third party. It applies when you buy, and it will apply again when you sell. Deals structured without accounting for it fall apart routinely.
If you are buying tenant-occupied property in DC, engage counsel who handles TOPA regularly before you go under contract. No mortgage product solves this, and no loan officer including us is the right person to advise you on it.
Rent stabilization is the second item. The District’s rent control regime covers a meaningful share of older buildings, limiting annual increases. Confirm a specific property’s status before you underwrite any rent growth assumption.
With those established, here is the lending picture.
The Lenders
Select Home Loans
Select Home Loans is a Non-QM mortgage broker (NMLS #2384002) writing 1099 investor loans in the District. DC pricing pushes most investment purchases into Non-QM jumbo territory, where investor appetite narrows sharply working across multiple wholesale investors is how a file that exceeds one shelf’s maximum loan amount still gets placed.
We quote the DSCR and bank statement alternatives alongside the 1099 program so you can compare rather than take the first number offered.
Get a quote · (888) 550-3296
Other lenders worth calling — listed in no particular order:
ABC United Finance — Publishes a Non-QM program set covering Virginia, Maryland, and the District, including bank statement, DSCR, asset-based, and 1099 contractor income programs with interest-only options. Regional focus on the DMV.
CMRE / Custom Mortgage (NMLS #1556995) Publishes DC-specific Non-QM programs including 12- and 24-month bank statement, 1099-only, P&L only, WVOE-only, asset depletion, and DSCR, across residential and small commercial.
Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions Non-QM wholesale investor with a dedicated 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 relevant in a market where jumbo sizing is the norm.
Deephaven Mortgage Non-QM lender with DSCR and alternative documentation programs across the Mid-Atlantic.
NASB (North American Savings Bank) 1099-NEC based program with a long track record in alternative documentation.
Verify current licensure and program availability before relying on any listing. See the disclaimer at the end of this page.
Almost Everything Here Is a Jumbo
DC values mean most investment purchases exceed conforming limits. That has three consequences worth planning around.
Fewer investors will write the loan. Non-QM jumbo appetite narrows above certain thresholds, and some 1099 programs cap below what DC property costs. Confirm the maximum loan amount on the specific program before you go under contract.
Reserve requirements rise with loan size. Six months of PITIA on a DC investment property is a substantially larger number than six months in Arkansas, and lenders often want more months as well as more dollars.
The gross-versus-net qualifying question gets sharper. In a lower-priced market the difference between qualifying methods determines how much house you get. In DC it frequently determines whether you clear the loan amount at all.
How Qualifying Works
A 1099 loan qualifies you on income documented on your 1099 forms rather than the net profit shown after deductions.
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 |
Consultants with genuinely low overhead — which describes most DC policy, legal, and government-relations independents working from a home office — should push hard on this. A CPA letter documenting an actual expense ratio can move a lender who applies a default factor, sometimes substantially.
One year or two
One-year suits a consultant whose practice has grown, or who recently moved from a firm to independent work with prior experience in the same field.
Two-year suits income tied to contract cycles, appropriations timing, or election cycles — all of which produce real year-to-year variation in the District.
The two-year self-employment history requirement is separate from the two-year income lookback. Ask about both.
DC’s 1099 Population
Federal contractors and subcontractors, the largest group, often on multi-year task orders where income is stable but entirely 1099.
Policy, legal, and government-relations consultants, frequently low-overhead and high-earning the best-fit profile for gross-receipts qualifying.
Association and nonprofit consultants, a large and often-overlooked segment.
Media and communications freelancers, with income spread across many 1099 issuers, which requires more documentation assembly but qualifies the same way.
Specialty trades working the District’s historic housing stock, where restoration expertise commands premium rates.
Other DC Specifics
Licensing to rent. The District requires a Basic Business License to rent residential property, along with inspection. This takes time and operating without it carries penalties. Budget for it in your timeline, not as an afterthought.
Historic districts. Large portions of the District sit within historic designations that constrain exterior work. This affects renovation plans and, occasionally, appraisal.
Condo and co-op stock. DC has meaningful co-op inventory, which most Non-QM investors will not finance at all, and condo warrantability varies. Establish which you are buying early.
The DMV is three jurisdictions. Many lenders serving the District also serve Maryland and Virginia, and the rules differ substantially across the line. Confirm your lender knows DC specifically rather than the region generally TOPA has no Maryland or Virginia equivalent.
Investment Property Terms
- Down payment: 25 percent is realistic at DC loan sizes, sometimes more
- Credit: 620 floor at most investors; meaningful improvements at 680, 700, 740
- Reserves: 6–12 months PITIA, trending high given loan size
- Prepayment penalties: common on investment property, typically 1–3 years, often buyable at a quarter to a half point
1099 or DSCR?
DC is a market where DSCR frequently does not work. At District prices, rent often fails to cover the payment even on a well-bought property the same dynamic as Colorado, for the same reason.
That is when a 1099 loan earns its place. Your documented contractor income carries a file the property cannot carry alone. And in a market where 1099 income is this concentrated and this strong, that is usually the more available path.
Use DSCR where the rent genuinely covers the payment more likely on small multifamily than on a single-family or condo. Use a 1099 loan where it does not, or where rent stabilization makes future rent growth unreliable enough that you would rather not qualify on it.
Questions to Ask
- Do you know TOPA, and have you closed a tenant-occupied DC purchase recently? (If the answer is vague, that is informative.)
- What is your maximum loan amount on this program?
- Do you qualify on gross 1099 income, or apply an expense factor and will a CPA letter move it?
- Will you run both the 1-year and 2-year scenarios?
- Do you finance co-ops, or condos only?
- Can you quote DSCR on the same property?
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 the District of Columbia, currently offers the program described, or will approve your file.
Nothing on this page is legal advice. TOPA, rent stabilization, and District licensing requirements are complex, carry real consequences, and are outside the scope of what a mortgage professional can advise on. Engage a DC real estate attorney before contracting on tenant-occupied property, and consult a licensed mortgage professional, tax advisor, and financial advisor as appropriate 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.
