Deed of Trust

A deed of trust is a document that secures a real estate loan by placing legal title with a neutral trustee until the loan is repaid. Many US states use it in place of a mortgage, so a DSCR loan in those states is secured this way.

Three parties are involved: the borrower (trustor), the lender (beneficiary) and the trustee, often a title or escrow company. When the loan is paid off, the trustee releases the lien. If the borrower defaults, the trustee can usually sell the property through a nonjudicial foreclosure, which tends to be faster than a court process.

The instrument does not change how DSCR is calculated. It changes what happens when the payment is not made, which is the risk the ratio is meant to measure in the first place.

Further reading: Deed of Trust on Wikipedia.