Difference between Debt Service Coverage Ratio and Debt Yield

I think there's some nuance I'm missing here, could someone help break it down for me?

Debt yield: net operating income/total loan amount

Debt service coverage ratio: net operating income/total debt service

Thanks!

11 Comments
 

Could be wrong here - but it's analogous to how cap rates are a proxy for unlevered returns. If you assume NOI is steady state and ignore the impact of below the line items, downtime, structural vacancy etc. then your cap rate = your unlevered returns. Now your CoC return is equal to your unlevered returns if you assume entry cap = exit cap and entry NOI = exit NOI 

Now extend the same idea to a DY since it's effectively the lender version of a cap rate 

 
Most Helpful

Yes - is helpful to know the relationship between mortgage constant, debt service coverage ratio, and debt yield and converting them.

Say a lender uses 7%/30-yr for calculating debt service in their underwriting or term sheet. That is equivalent to a 7.98% mortgage constant (=PMT(7%/12,30*12,-1)*12)

  • Lender wants a minimum 1.25x DSCR. That is equivalent to a 10% debt yield (1.25x * 7.98%). 
  • Or, if given 10% DY, solve for DSCR by dividing DY by mortgage constant (10% / 7.98% = 1.25x).

Also can be used for figuring out max loan amount based on a given NOI. Say NOI is $5MM and lender is using a 7.98% constant. 

  • Max loan sized to 1.25x (or 10% DY, from above) = $50 million ($5,000,000 / 10%)  or ($5,000,000 / (7.98% / 1.25x))

Both DY and DSCR are useful and should be taken into account. Debt yield is useful because it's apples to apples, whereas DSCR depends on the mortgage constant being used, which varies from lender to lender. If a mortgage broker tells me they have a deal with a 1.25x DSCR, that's not very helpful because we're probably using different interest rates. However DY doesn't take into interest rates, which is obviously important these days. Two years ago when rates were low, a 7% DY looked solid and produced a fine DSCR. But with rates higher today, that same 7% DY is 1.00x. 

 

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