What Is a Hard Money Loan? What 68,319 Borrowers Got in 2025
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Quick Answer
A hard money loan is a short-term loan from a private (non-bank) lender, secured by an investment property and approved mainly on the deal rather than on your income. It is business-purpose credit, so it sits outside the consumer-mortgage rules of Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.3(a)(1)). The newest federal record, 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data read on October 20, 2026, shows what borrowers of this type of loan actually got: of 68,319 short-term investor loans, the median ran 12 months, 68.6% had a term of exactly 12 months, 88.5% were interest-only, 91.9% ended in a balloon payment, the median loan was $265,000 at a 70% combined loan-to-value, and the median note rate was 9.99% (10.25% at non-bank lenders, 7.5% at banks and credit unions). Not one of the 68,319 records reports points or origination charges as a dollar amount, so the price you negotiate is not in the public file. The “no credit check” line is also not what lenders print: on October 20, 2026 the published minimum credit scores ran from 600 (Easy Street Capital) to 650 (Rehab Financial Group, RCN Capital, New Silver), 660 (Lima One) and 660 to 720 (Anchor Loans).
Key Takeaways
- Definition: a short-term loan from a private lender, secured by the property, underwritten on the deal (price, rehab plan, after-repair value) more than on your income. Because it is for a business purpose, Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.3(a)(1)) exempts it from the consumer-credit rules.
- The typical 2025 loan, from 68,319 federal records: 12-month term (68.6% of loans), interest-only (88.5%), balloon at the end (91.9%), $265,000, bought a home (74.2%), 70% combined loan-to-value, 9.99% median note rate. 66.6% of loans combined a 12-month term, interest-only payments and a balloon.
- Price depends on who lends: the 12-month loans had a 10.25% median rate and the loans longer than 12 months had 8.5%, because banks make most of the longer ones. Non-bank lenders, the hard money market proper, made 83.8% of the loans at a 10.25% median.
- Requirements are narrower than the myth: published minimum credit scores run 600 to 720, maximum loan-to-after-repair-value is 65% to 75%, loan-to-cost is 90% to 95% at five lenders, and points run from 0 to 2 where stated (lender claims read October 20, 2026).
- First-timers: Lima One requires one exit of an investment property in the last 36 months, LendingOne 1-2 transactions in the last 3 years, while New Silver says no experience is required and Easy Street Capital says its quick-close option is open to first-time flippers.
- Against DSCR: the 152,049 30-year-plus investor loans in the same file had a 7.375% median note rate, 2.6 points below the short-term median. Hard money buys speed and rehab money; a DSCR loan is the long-term exit.
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What a hard money loan looks like: 2025 federal loan records and eight lenders' published requirements
81 rows: 2025 HMDA short-term investor loans re-derived from the federal file (rates, terms, payment features, size, loan-to-value) and requirements eight lenders published on October 20, 2026; one source per row.
What a hard money loan is
Strip away the marketing and three things define it.
- The lender is usually not a bank. In 2025 non-bank lenders made 83.8% of the short-term investor loans in the federal file; banks and credit unions made 14.3% (the remaining 1.9% could not be classified). The money often comes from funds and securitization buyers, not deposits.
- The collateral and the deal drive approval. The lender looks at the purchase price, the rehab budget, the after-repair value (ARV) and your plan to sell or refinance. It does not ask for pay stubs or tax returns. LendingOne states that it “does not require W-2s or tax returns”, for example.
- It is short and it is meant to be repaid by an event: the sale of the flip, or a refinance into a long-term loan. That is why most are interest-only with a balloon, as the next section shows.
Because the borrower uses the money for a business purpose, the loan is not a consumer mortgage. Regulation Z exempts “an extension of credit primarily for a business, commercial or agricultural purpose” (12 CFR 1026.3(a)(1)), which is why you will not see the ability-to-repay and disclosure rules a home buyer gets. That is also why the terms below are the lender's, not a regulator's.
Top results for “what is a hard money loan” explain the idea, and several say credit barely matters. The lenders' own pages say otherwise (table below): every one that publishes a minimum sets one between 600 and 720. For how the cost behaves once the loan runs long, see our page on extension fees, points and default interest.
What borrowers actually got in 2025
HMDA is the only public file that shows these loans one by one. Lenders above a size threshold report each mortgage they originate, and the FFIEC publishes the nationwide file. We re-derived the 2025 group from the loan-level file on October 20, 2026 (our arithmetic) and cross-checked the headline against our hard money loan rates page, which covers rates by lender and state in detail; this page looks at the structure of the loan.
The 2025 short-term investor loan in federal data (68,319 loans)
| Feature | 2025 result | What it means for a borrower |
|---|---|---|
| Term, median | 12 months | Plan the whole project, sale included, inside a year. |
| Term of exactly 12 months | 68.6% of loans | The default product. Another 10.5% were shorter (6 months alone was 5.8%). |
| Term longer than 12 months | 20.9% of loans | Median note rate 8.5% on these, against 10.25% on 12-month loans; banks make many of them. |
| Interest-only payments | 88.5% of loans | You pay interest each month and no principal. |
| Balloon payment | 91.9% of loans | The whole balance is due at maturity: sell or refinance. |
| 12-month, interest-only and balloon together | 66.6% of loans | Two of every three loans had all three features. |
| Loan amount, median (middle half) | $265,000 ($165,000 to $475,000) | Smaller than the $1 million-plus deals lenders advertise. |
| Property value, median | $375,000 | A typical flip, not a luxury project. |
| Combined loan-to-value, median | 70.0% (middle half 64.5% to 75.0%) | 52.2% of loans were at or below 70% and 83.2% at or below 75%. |
| Combined loan-to-value above 80% | 6.5% of loans with a value | High leverage exists but is rare when measured against property value. |
| Purpose: home purchase | 74.2% of loans | Three in four were acquisitions; refinances were 14.8%. |
| Median note rate (10th to 90th percentile) | 9.99% (7.5% to 11.75%) | Middle half 8.859% to 10.95%. |
| Points or origination charges reported | 0 of 68,319 loans | The public file does not show what the lender charged at closing. |
The loan-to-value figure is measured on the property value in the lender's record, usually the as-is value, not the after-repair value (ARV) that lenders quote in their marketing. A lender saying “up to 75% of ARV” can lend close to the purchase price on a cheap house that needs work, which is how 70% of value and 90% of cost can both be true of the same deal.
What the median loan costs (our arithmetic)
Take the median loan, $265,000, at the median note rate of 9.99%, interest-only for 12 months. Interest is $26,473.50 a year, or $2,206.13 a month. Points are not in the federal file, so add an assumption: two points at closing (hypothetical, in the range lenders publish) is $5,300. A full 12 months then costs $31,773.50, or 11.99% of the loan. If you sell in month 6, interest is $13,236.75 plus the same $5,300, or $18,536.75, which is about 7.0% of the loan for half a year and about 14.0% annualized. The shorter your project, the more the points weigh; the hard money loan calculator runs your own numbers, and the fix and flip calculator tests whether the deal still pays.
Hard money loan requirements: eight lenders, read October 20, 2026
HMDA has no credit scores, experience or points, so for requirements we read what lenders publish. Every figure below is the lender's own claim on its own page on October 20, 2026; none is verified against a loan file, programs change, and a published minimum is a floor, not a promise of approval. Kiavi is not in the table; its terms are on its own site and in our Kiavi review.
| Lender | Minimum credit score | Leverage published | Points or fees published | Term | Experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rehab Financial Group | 650 | Up to 75% of ARV (65% at FICO 650-699; 75% at 700+ with proven experience); 100% of purchase and rehab | Points as low as 1.5% | 9 months plus a 3-month optional extension (fees apply) | Helps leverage; bring $15,000 or 25% of the rehab budget, whichever is greater, plus closing costs |
| RCN Capital | 650 | Up to 75% of ARV; up to 100% of purchase price and rehab costs | Not stated; 1% termination fee after month 9, no prepay penalty | 12 months (ARV program) | Not required but affects pricing and leverage |
| Anchor Loans | 660 to 720 depending on experience | Bridge loans up to 80% LTV; fix-and-flip by cost or ARV | Varies by borrower and loan | Not stated | Lends to experienced investors |
| LendingOne | Not stated in the pages read | Up to 92.5% of cost, 100% of rehab costs | 1 point or $2,000 (greater) plus $1,395 processing and legal | 12-24 months standard | 1-2 transactions in the last 3 years |
| Easy Street Capital | 600 | Up to 93% of cost, up to 75% of ARV | 0-2 points and a $1,995 document fee | 6-18 months | First-time flippers can use the quick-close option |
| Lima One Capital | 660 | Up to 95% of cost and 75% LTV | Origination fee can be deferred to exit; number not stated | 13, 19 and 24 months | One exit of an investment property in the last 36 months |
| New Silver | 650 | Up to 90% of cost, up to 75% of ARV | Origination 1% to 1.75% | Up to 18 months | No experience required |
| CoreVest | Not stated in the pages read | Up to 93.5% of cost for 1-4 unit properties | Not stated | 6 to 24 months with extension options | Possible for a first-time investor; experience is one factor |
What the table adds up to, in numbers (our arithmetic across the eight):
- Credit: six of eight publish a minimum, from 600 to 720. Nobody publishes “no credit check”; New Silver adds that its application uses a soft pull.
- Leverage: seven publish a cost-based or ARV-based ceiling; against cost it is 90% to 95%, against ARV 65% to 75%.
- Cash in: the median 2025 loan sat at 70% of property value, so plan on a down payment well above zero even where a lender advertises “100% of rehab”.
- Points: where a number is printed it runs from 0 to 2 points, plus fixed fees of $1,395 to $1,995 at the two lenders that state them.
- Term: 6 to 24 months everywhere, which matches the 12-month median in the federal record.
Rates are left out on purpose: they are the one number that changes weekly and the federal median (9.99%) is a better anchor than a “starting at” claim. Lender-by-lender medians are on our hard money lenders page, and reviews of RCN Capital, LendingOne, Lima One, New Silver and Anchor Loans are on the site.
Can a first-time flipper get one?
Sometimes, and the answer depends on the lender, not on hard money in general. In the pages read on October 20, 2026:
- Closed to true first-timers: Lima One requires “one exit of an investment property in the last 36 months” (a flip, or the sale or refinance of an investment property you were on title for). LendingOne requires 1-2 transactions in the last 3 years. Anchor Loans describes itself as lending to experienced investors.
- Open, with a price: RCN Capital says experience is not required but affects pricing and leverage. Rehab Financial Group gives its top 75% ARV only to a 700+ score with proven experience, 70% to a 700+ score and 65% to 650-699.
- Open by their own statement: New Silver (“No experience required”), Easy Street Capital (quick-close option for first-time flippers) and CoreVest (“Possibly”).
A first-time flipper should therefore expect lower leverage, more cash in the deal and a higher rate than the advertised best case, and should ask for the program's first-time terms in writing before paying an appraisal fee.
Hard money vs DSCR vs bridge: which one fits which job
The three overlap, and the labels are not regulated. In the federal file the first two differ mainly by term: loans of 36 months or less are the hard money group here; 30-year-plus investor loans with no debt-to-income ratio are the DSCR-type group.
| Hard money (fix-and-flip) | Bridge | DSCR (rental) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job | Buy and renovate, then sell or refinance | Close fast on a property that may not need rehab, until a sale or refinance | Hold a rented property long-term |
| Underwritten on | Purchase price, rehab budget, ARV, experience | As-is value and your exit | The property's rent against the payment |
| Published leverage | 90% to 95% of cost; 65% to 75% of ARV | Up to 80% LTV at Anchor Loans and RCN Capital (purchase, as-is value) | Up to 80% LTV on a purchase at LendingOne and RCN Capital |
| Term | 6 to 24 months; median 12 in 2025 | 12 or 18 months at RCN Capital | 30 years at RCN Capital |
| Minimum credit score published | 600 to 720 | 650 at RCN Capital | 660 at RCN Capital |
| Median note rate, 2025 federal file | 9.99% (68,319 loans) | Not separated in HMDA | 7.375% (152,049 loans) |
| Payment | 88.5% interest-only; 91.9% balloon | Typically interest-only with a balloon | Principal and interest over 30 years |
In practice: use a hard money loan when you need purchase and rehab money and a lender that closes in days; a bridge loan is the same short-term product marketed for a property you do not plan to gut (see our bridge loan page); a DSCR loan is what you refinance into once the property is stabilized and rented (what a DSCR loan is, DSCR loan requirements). The 2.6-point gap between the 9.99% and 7.375% medians is the price of speed and rehab money; it only pays if the project moves.
What a reader can do with this
- Test the deal against the median loan. If the profit disappears at 9.99% interest, 2 points and a 12-month hold, the lender is not the problem. Run it in the hard money loan calculator.
- Check your score and experience against the table before applying. A 640 score fails five of the six published minimums; a first flip fails at least two lenders on experience (Lima One and LendingOne).
- Ask for rate, points, fixed fees, extension fee and default rate in writing, because the federal file shows none of the fees. Our page on extension fees, points and default interest lists what public lenders disclose.
- Plan the exit before the loan. With a balloon on 91.9% of loans, a missed sale date is the main risk; line up the DSCR refinance or the buyer first.
- Compare more than one lender in your state, using the lender-by-lender medians and fix-and-flip loans in 2026.
The lenders in the box below make investor flip and rental loans. Kiavi pays us a referral fee when a loan closes through its button; the federal figures above are the same either way. More on each: Kiavi review, Lima One review, Visio Lending review.
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When a rate, rule or filing behind this page changes: what changed, the one number that matters, and the source to check it yourself.
This is analysis of public documents, not investment, legal or tax advice, and not a loan offer.
FAQ
Loan-level data: FFIEC/CFPB HMDA Data Browser, nationwide originated conventional loans for 2025, re-derived on October 20, 2026 with the filters stated in the data file; lender-type shares and medians from our hard-money-loan-rates-2026 dataset (FFIEC filer classification); Regulation Z text from eCFR, 12 CFR 1026.3; lender requirements from the lenders' own pages, read October 20, 2026: Rehab Financial Group (rehabfinancial.com, loan requirements and loan terms), RCN Capital (rcncapital.com/faqs), Anchor Loans (anchorloans.com/faqs), LendingOne (lendingone.com FAQs and fix-and-flip page), Easy Street Capital (easystreetcap.com FAQs and fix-and-flip page), Lima One Capital (limaone.com fix-and-flip FAQ), New Silver (newsilver.com hard money page) and CoreVest (corevestfinance.com fix-and-flip page). Lender figures are the lenders' own claims. All percentiles, shares, medians, and cost figures are our arithmetic. This is analysis of public documents, not investment, legal or tax advice.
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