How to Get a Hard Money Loan, Step by Step

Getting a hard money loan is faster than getting a mortgage because the lender is underwriting the property and your plan for it, not your paycheck. That does not mean there are no requirements; it means they are different ones, and each lender publishes its own. This guide walks through the process in order and shows what named lenders ask for at each step. For the requirements alone (credit, experience, down payment) in one place, see hard money loan requirements; for what the loan is and costs, what is a hard money loan.

Step 1: Run the numbers before you call a lender

Lenders size the loan off three numbers: purchase price, rehab budget and after-repair value (ARV). Easy Street Capital, for example, lends up to 90% of the purchase and 100% of the rehab, but no more than 93% of total cost or 75% of ARV (Easy Street Capital). Use the fix and flip calculator to check the deal clears those caps before you apply.

Step 2: Match the lender to your file

The first screen is a short list of published requirements:

From each lender's own fix-and-flip or FAQ page, read November 2, 2026. "Not stated" means the page does not give one.

Credit floors run from 600 (Easy Street Capital, Express Capital Financing) to 660 (Lima One). Experience changes the terms more than the yes or no: RCN Capital reserves its highest leverage, up to 95% of the purchase, for investors with more than 10 flips in the last 3 years and a 720+ score. If you have none, hard money loans for beginners lists what first-time investors can get.

Step 3: Know your cash to close

There is no fixed hard money down payment; it is whatever the lender's caps leave you to cover. On one example deal (example inputs: $200,000 purchase, $50,000 rehab, $350,000 ARV):

Then add fees. Express Capital Financing lists 2%+ points, $4,600 or more on a $230,000 loan; Groundfloor charges a 1% to 3.75% underwriting fee plus a $495 application fee, $2,745 to $8,932.50 on $225,000 (Groundfloor). Interest, title, insurance and the reserve for holding costs come on top; see the hard money loan calculator.

Step 4: Gather the documents

Groundfloor's FAQ gives a concrete list, and it is typical of what lenders ask for (Groundfloor):

• The purchase contract or deed
• A scope of work for a rehab, or plans and specs for construction
• Your ID and an experience sheet listing past projects
• Proof of funds: one month's bank statement
• Business entity documents if you borrow through an LLC
• Permission to check your credit

What is usually not on the list is income: Groundfloor says it looks at the property's potential rather than your debt-to-income ratio or tax returns. Loans made primarily for a business purpose, or to an LLC rather than a person, are exempt from the federal Truth in Lending rules in Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.3(a)), which is part of why lenders can skip the income checks a home mortgage needs.

Step 5: Valuation

This is where timelines split. Easy Street Capital says no appraisal is required on its fix-and-flip loan. Lima One offers self-directed appraisals with valuations in 5 days or less. Others order a full appraisal, and the value it returns resets your loan if it comes in low.

Step 6: Term sheet and closing

Published closing times range from 24 hours (Easy Street Capital) and 5 days (Express Capital Financing) to 7 days (New Silver) and 7 to 14 business days at Groundfloor once the file is complete. Read the term sheet for points, the rate, the term, extension fees and any prepayment rule: Groundfloor charges no penalty after the first 3 months but has a 3-month minimum interest requirement.

Rates and holding costs to expect

Published fix-and-flip starting rates, and what six months of interest costs on a $225,000 loan at each:

Starting rates go to experienced borrowers with strong credit; first-time investors usually pay more and get less leverage. Compare all lenders' rates on hard money loan rates.

Step 7: Draws and the exit

Rehab money is paid in draws as work is completed and inspected, not at closing, so plan the first phase of work from your own cash. The loan is short; most fix-and-flip terms run 6 to 18 months (Easy Street Capital) or 12 months (Express Capital Financing's fix-and-flip page says all its loans are 12 months; its program table says 12 to 36). The exit is a sale or a refinance into a long-term rental loan; see DSCR loans for the second.

Worked example: what the loan costs on one flip

The same example deal ($200,000 purchase, $50,000 rehab, $350,000 ARV), held six months, at three lenders' published starting rates and leverage:

New Silver's lower rate and smaller loan give the lowest interest here, but it leaves you $25,000 of cash to bring against $20,000 at the other two. Easy Street Capital offers 0-point options, Express Capital Financing lists 2%+ points, and New Silver's page does not publish points, so the totals are not like for like, and a 0-point option may not come with the lowest rate. Ask every lender for a term sheet with points, fees and the rate on the same deal before you compare.

If the project runs long

Interest keeps running until you sell or refinance. At Express Capital Financing's 9.99% on $230,000, six months costs $11,488, nine months $17,233 and twelve months $22,977. Its fix-and-flip page says all its loans are 12 months, so a project that slips past a year needs an extension or a new loan; Easy Street Capital's terms run 6 to 18 months. Ask about extension fees before you sign, not when the term is about to end, and build at least a few months of slippage into the interest budget: permits, contractor schedules and a slow sale all add time.

Hard money loan or a bank mortgage?

The process differs because the rules differ. A bank mortgage on a home is consumer credit, with income checks and federal disclosure timelines. A hard money loan to an investor is a business-purpose loan, outside Regulation Z, and lenders such as Groundfloor look at the property rather than your debt-to-income ratio. That is part of why published closings run from 24 hours to about 14 business days. The price is the rate: Freddie Mac's survey put the 30-year fixed at 7.24% for the week of October 29, 2026 (Freddie Mac PMMS), against published fix-and-flip starting rates of 8.5% to 9.99% here, on a loan you will hold for months rather than decades.

What gets an application declined

• A credit score under the lender's floor
• A recent bankruptcy or foreclosure (Groundfloor: none in the last 24 months)
• A felony in the last 5 years or financially related offenses (Groundfloor)
• A deal that does not fit the loan-to-cost and ARV caps
• A loan below the lender's minimum, such as $75K at Easy Street Capital or $100K at New Silver

Not financial advice. Terms are each lender's own, read November 2, 2026; confirm before you apply.

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