Yes. You can finance a short-term rental that has never earned a dollar — a fresh purchase, new construction, or a property you’re converting to short-term use. The loan qualifies on projected market income for the address, not on a track record the property doesn’t have yet.
This stops a lot of first-time buyers who want to finance a short-term rental cold. They assume a lender needs to see months of booking history before they’ll finance the place. For a purchase, that’s not how income-based investment loans work — the projection does the job the history would.
How to finance a short-term rental with no history
For a property you’re buying, the lender leans on a market-data projection — most often AirDNA — that estimates what the specific address can earn based on nightly rates and occupancy for comparable properties in that market. An appraiser may also provide a market rent schedule. Together, those give the lender a credible income figure without a single past booking.
The question the loan answers is the same as always: does the projected income cover the mortgage payment? If it does, the lack of history isn’t a problem.
When the property does have history
If you’re buying a short-term rental that’s already operating, its actual revenue can be used instead — and strong, documented numbers can help the file. But it’s an option, not a requirement. Plenty of short-term rentals get financed before they host a single guest.
What still matters
No rental history doesn’t mean no underwriting. You’ll still bring a down payment (typically 20%–25%), documented reserves, and a workable credit profile, and the projected income still has to pencil out against the payment.
One diligence item: check the local rules
Before you fall in love with the projection, confirm the property’s city or HOA actually allows short-term rentals. Some markets restrict or ban them, and that affects both the income and the financing. It’s the one piece of homework worth doing early — a great AirDNA number doesn’t help if the location won’t permit the use.
A typical deal
A scenario I see often: an investor buying a never-rented vacation condo in a strong short-term market. There’s no booking history because no one has rented it yet — so we qualify it on the AirDNA projection for the address, confirm short-term rentals are allowed there, and it closes. The empty history never becomes the obstacle.
Ready to look at your deal?
A property with no rental history is still very financeable — what matters is what it can earn. Tell us about your deal and we’ll run the projection — in English or Spanish.
By Andres Jara — Alpha Equity Lending (NMLS #1855083). 20+ years in real estate finance, an MS in Finance, and an active South Florida investor and landlord.
