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A New Era of Financeable Housing Is Here
If you’ve ever applied for a construction or permanent loan, you’ve heard the term Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR). It’s the core metric lenders use to decide whether a project can safely support its debt.
In Colorado’s mountain markets — where short building seasons, high labor costs, and logistical challenges inflate budgets — achieving a strong DSCR can be difficult.
At Fort + Home, we’re solving that problem head-on. From our Grand Junction factory, we build precision homes year-round, cutting costs, compressing schedules, and improving DCR to make projects bankable. This isn’t just about better construction — it’s about building safer investments.
What’s Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR)?
Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) measures a property’s ability to cover its debt with operating income. The formula is simple:
DSCR = Net Operating Income (NOI) ÷ Annual Debt Payments
Most lenders require a DCR of 1.25 or higher, meaning a project must earn 25% more than its annual debt obligations.
Example:
If a property generates $15,600 in NOI and has $12,000 in annual debt payments, its DCR is 1.3 — typically bankable.
The challenge? In traditional site-built construction, uncontrolled variables like weather delays, material price swings, and labor shortages drive up costs and extend schedules. That means larger loans, higher payments, and lower DSCR — all of which can derail financing before a project even breaks ground.
The Factory-Built Advantage
Factory-built construction introduces predictability to an industry defined by volatility.
By moving production indoors at our Grand Junction facility, we eliminate weather delays, stabilize labor, and standardize quality through digital workflows and third-party inspections. Every Structural Insulated Panel (SIP), wall system, and modular unit is fabricated under controlled conditions and precision-tested before leaving the factory.
We optimize three key drivers of bankability:
- Budget: Controlled production reduces total build costs by ~20–25% per square foot, shrinking loan sizes and monthly debt payments.
- Schedule: Indoor production runs 12 months a year, allowing site prep and factory builds to happen in parallel
- Quality: Repeatable processes ensure each home meets or exceeds IBC and IRC standards.
This system doesn’t just lower costs — it raises DSCR naturally by reducing risk, stabilizing NOI, and shortening loan exposure. The result: projects that pencil for lenders and investors alike.
Understanding SIPs: Boosting Efficiency and NOI
Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) are the foundation of our cost and energy efficiency strategy. Unlike traditional walls that require multiple trades, SIPs integrate structure, insulation, and air sealing in one pre-engineered panel.
Imagine a sandwich: OSB or magnesium-oxide skins bonded to a high-performance foam core.
The benefits are tangible::
- Stronger: SIPs are up to 30% stronger than traditional 2×6 framed walls.
- More Efficient: They deliver up to 40% higher insulation performance, cutting utility bills by 20–50%.
- Faster: SIP shells go up in weeks, not months, minimizing interest carry.
The result is airtight, energy-efficient homes that lower operating costs, raise NOI, and strengthen DCR — improving both lender confidence and long-term asset value.
What Modular Construction Really Means
Modular construction takes efficiency to the next level.
In our factory, entire home sections — or modules — are built up to 90% complete, including framing, plumbing, electrical, finishes, and appliances. Once foundations are ready, modules are craned into place, stitched together, and finished with roofs and façades.
Single-family homes can be move-in ready in as little as 7–10 days after set.
Unlike manufactured housing, our modular builds meet or exceed local building codes, often outperforming site-built homes in strength and performance due to transport engineering.
This speed and quality reduce loan duration and interest carry, boosting DCR while keeping assets in compliance with institutional lending standards.
From workforce housing to small multifamily communities, this system makes scaling financeable projects practical in high-cost regions.
Why This Model Works in the Rockies
A typical site-built project has a 5–6 month weather window. Miss it, and your project slides a year, with interest costs mounting.
Our precision-built model removes that constraint. While site crews pour foundations, we’re building indoors. Parallel workstreams compress total delivery time, lower carrying costs, and protect DSCR.
Located in Grand Junction, our logistics hub reaches every major Western Colorado market within hours — allowing rapid, cost-effective delivery of homes that pencil for lenders and perform for investors.
Better for Families, Communities, and Investors
Precision-built housing creates value across every stakeholder group
- Families: Lower utility bills and stronger, energy-efficient homes.
- Communities: Faster delivery of workforce and attainable housing.
- Investors: Predictable returns and safer projects with higher DCR.
Our SIP and modular systems reduce job site waste by up to 90%, lower embodied carbon by ~35%, and improve energy performance by 20–30%
That sustainability isn’t just good for the planet — it enhances NOI and supports long-term financing performance.
Why It’s the Future — and Why It’s Inevitable
Precision manufacturing revolutionized industries like automotive and aerospace. Housing is next.
By integrating design, engineering, and production, Fort + Home is delivering homes that are faster to build, more cost-efficient, and built to institutional standards.
Our Grand Junction factory is operational and scaling, month-over-month, proving this model delivers measurable financial outcomes.
By improving DSCR through cost control and faster delivery, we’re creating a new class of financeable, attainable housing — safer for lenders, stronger for investors, and sustainable for communities.
This is how housing evolves — with systems that scale.
Join Us on the Journey
If you’re a developer, investor, or industry professional ready to build smarter and faster, we’d love to connect.
Together, we can build faster, safer, and more financeable housing — for the families and communities that make Colorado thrive.
About the Author
Jeff Zimmerman is the CEO of Fort + Home, a vertically integrated real estate and construction company based in Grand Junction, Colorado. Through its Fort Homes division, the company is redefining how attainable housing is built, financed, and delivered across the Rocky Mountain region.
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