Hard Money Lenders in Seattle

Most Seattle hard money lenders are not in Seattle. Of the eleven below, three have Seattle addresses (Second Avenue downtown, Westlake Avenue North and Meridian Avenue North); the rest work from Kirkland, Bellevue, Mercer Island and Newcastle on the Eastside. That matters less than it sounds, because several state that they lend across Washington or the Pacific Northwest, and one lends in a multi-state list. What matters more in Seattle is price: the Census median home value is $938,600, the highest of the ten cities with pages on this site, so loan minimums, caps and the state excise tax all bite harder.

Seattle hard money lenders and their published terms

Ratings and review counts are as shown on each lender's Google Maps listing on October 30, 2026. Terms are quoted from each lender's own website, read the same day; "None published" means its site gives no rates or leverage. Listed alphabetically, not ranked. Confirm current terms with the lender.

Read loan caps before rates. Certain Lending lends $200,000 to $1.5 million at up to 90% of cost and 70% of after-construction value; Rain City Capital up to 100% of cost on loans of $75K to $3.5M; Northwest Private Lending $50K to $2M at up to 80% of the purchase price. Seattle Funding Group funds construction up to 80% of cost and commercial loans of $500K to $10M with 1.5 to 2.5 points, and Avatar Financial Group quotes commercial bridge loans generally at 9.50% to 11.50%, interest only. WADOT Capital is unusual in listing its fees line by line: $310 document review, $475 underwriting, $250 to $350 inspection, $24 UCC and $50 tax service on construction loans quoted at 10.5% to 12.9%.

Hard money loans in Seattle: six months on one loan

On a loan of $657,020, 70% of the median value, held for six months with interest-only payments, the four Seattle-area lenders with a published rate or a worked example compare like this (low end of each range):

Interest is loan x annual rate / 12 x 6; Northwest Private Lending charges 1% of the loan per month. Intrust Funding's figures come from an example deal on its homepage, not a rate sheet. Seattle Funding Group's 6.99% "pay rate" is a homepage promotion and is left out.

At Seattle loan sizes each percentage point on a six-month loan is worth about $3,285, so the gap between the cheapest and most expensive option in the table is $29,566. Ask whether a quoted rate is the "OAC" floor (Eastside Funding's 10% is on approved credit) or the rate you will actually get.

Real estate excise tax on a Seattle purchase

Washington's state REET is graduated: 1.10% on the first $525,000 of the price, 1.28% from there to $1,525,000, 2.75% to $3,025,000 and 3% above, for sales through December 31, 2026 (Washington DOR). Seattle adds a local REET of 0.50% (DOR local rates, May 2026), and the Department of Revenue says the local tax must be calculated and added to the graduated state rate. On the $938,600 median price that is $11,069.08 state plus $4,693 local, $15,762.08 in total.

From January 1, 2027 the state thresholds rise to $551,000, $1,551,000 and $3,051,000 (Washington DOR). At the median price that trims the state tax to $11,022.28, a saving of $46.80. On a flip the tax applies to both the purchase and the resale, so check each contract for who pays it.

The rent problem for a Seattle DSCR refinance

Seattle's gross yield is the lowest of the ten cities: twelve months of the $2,030 median rent is 2.6% of the median value. Upright, which says it lends in Washington, lists DSCR loans from 5.99% (as of August 2026) with a 0.90x minimum and 80% of the purchase price (Upright). An 80% loan on the median value is $750,880 and costs $4,497.08 a month in principal and interest, which the median rent covers 0.45 times. At Upright's 0.90x floor the rent supports about $376,612.

So on these numbers a Seattle hard money loan is easier to exit by sale than by refinance, unless the property has extra units, an accessory dwelling or rents well above the citywide median. If you do plan to hold, size the refinance from the rent before you buy.

Trustee sales in King County

When a Washington deed of trust is foreclosed by trustee's sale, RCW 61.24.040 says that on the date and at the time designated in the notice of sale, the trustee or its agent sells the property at public auction to the highest bidder (RCW 61.24.040). Buyers who want to bid need funds ready on that date, so ask a lender in advance whether it will fund a trustee-sale purchase.

Seattle in Census figures

The ACS counts 393,918 housing units in Seattle, 363,466 of them occupied; 56.3% of those occupied homes are rented. The median rent of $2,030 is high in dollars but low against a $938,600 median value.

Private money lenders in Seattle and national lenders in Washington

Beyond the local lenders, Lima One Capital, Kiavi, Easy Street Capital, New Silver, Sherman Bridge, Express Capital Financing, LendingOne, Upright, Ternus and Griffin Funding say they lend in Washington; Groundfloor, RCN Capital and CoreVest do not publish where they lend. Compare them on the Washington hard money lenders page, and read the Northwest Private Lending review for one Pacific Northwest lender in depth.

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