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Guides to help you learn about hard money lending.
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What is hard money lending?
A plain-English guide to short-term real estate loans, the money available at closing, and the repayment deadline.
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Choosing a hard money lender
Compare lender fit, actual cash available, draw practices, closing conditions, and the cost of a delay.
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Hard money vs. conventional investment loans
Choose financing that fits a property's condition, schedule, and intended holding period.
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What does a hard money loan really cost?
Turn an interest rate, points, holdbacks, fees, and delays into a project-level borrowing cost.
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LTV, LTC, and ARV: the numbers behind a loan offer
Work through the caps that determine loan size, cash at closing, and renovation funding.
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How fix-and-flip financing works
Follow a flip loan from purchase through draws, sale, and payoff, with the cash gaps along the way.
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Bridge loans and the exit strategy
Work backward from maturity to test whether a sale or refinance can actually retire the loan.
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Rehab draws: when renovation funds become available
Plan the cash between contractor invoices and a lender's construction reimbursements.
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From loan inquiry to funded deal
Prepare a project file and track the conditions between a quick quote and money at closing.
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Underwriting a fix-and-flip deal before you borrow
Build a complete project budget, test cash needs, and see how a small delay can erase the margin.
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From bridge loan to rental financing
Test whether a renovated rental can qualify for a takeout loan large enough to pay off the bridge.
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Ground-up construction loans from private lenders
Understand the land, permit, budget, draw, and completion questions that shape a new-build loan.
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Red flags when evaluating a hard money lender
Verify the company, the written deal, and where your money and information are going.
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What to read in a hard money loan package
Find the terms that govern payments, property collateral, guarantees, construction draws, and default.
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When a hard money project runs late
Reforecast the job, measure the payoff gap, and discuss an extension before the loan matures.
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Ways to invest in hard money loans
Identify the borrower, collateral claim, manager, and cash-flow rights in four common investment structures.
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What secures a private real estate loan investment?
Follow the lien from the underlying property to the claim the investor actually holds.
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How an investor can underwrite a private real estate loan
Write a short credit memo that tests the borrower, property, budget, exit, and recovery.
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Vetting a private lending operator or servicer
Evaluate the people and systems that originate, monitor, extend, and resolve loans funded with investor capital.
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Quoted yield vs. the return an investor receives
Follow a private loan investment from stated coupon through idle cash, expenses, delays, and losses.
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Liquidity and concentration in private real estate credit
Plan for late payoffs and find risks shared across loans that appear diversified.
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When a private real estate loan defaults
Track the facts, decision rights, and net recovery when a property borrower stops paying.
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Lending directly vs. becoming an LP in a hard money lender
Compare a loan you make to one property owner with an LP interest in a lending fund or operating business.
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