Fix & Flip Loans: Purchase + Rehab in One Close

Fix and flip loans serve house flippers from first-timers to full-time operators, BRRRR investors renovating before the refinance, wholesalers closing on deals too profitable to assign, and small builders doing heavy renovation. The common profile: you found a mispriced or distressed property, you have a realistic scope and budget, and you need financing that moves at the speed the deal demands and lends on what the property will be worth — not what it appraises for with a torn-out kitchen.

The core benefit is capital efficiency: because leverage keys off ARV and rehab funds through the loan, your cash in the deal shrinks dramatically versus paying cash or bank-financing the purchase and self-funding the renovation. Add speed to close that wins competitive and auction situations; draws that keep the project funded stage by stage; interest-only payments sized for a hold measured in months; experience-based pricing that improves with each completed project; and lending to your LLC as standard. One application prices your deal across multiple programs.

Acquiring distressed, auction, REO, estate, and off-market properties; funding full renovation budgets from cosmetic refreshes to gut rehabs; covering carrying costs through the project via interest-only structure; scaling to multiple simultaneous flips as experience grows; and bridging a finished flip to sale or to a DSCR refinance if you decide to hold it.

The deal leads: purchase price, credible scope of work and budget, ARV supported by comparable sales, and enough margin to absorb surprises. Borrower-side: completed-project experience raises leverage and cuts pricing (bring your track record — addresses and numbers); liquidity for the down payment, closing costs, and reserves; and flexible credit review with minimums well below bank standards. First-time flippers qualify on strong deals with solid liquidity, typically at somewhat lower leverage. Business-purpose, non-owner-occupied, entity borrowers standard. Programs vary by state and lender. Not all applicants qualify.

Terms run 6 to 18 months, interest-only, with the balance due at exit — the sale, or a refinance into a DSCR loan if the flip becomes a hold. Rehab funds release through inspected draws as stages complete, and on most programs interest accrues only on what you have drawn. No prepayment penalty on most fix-and-flip programs — selling early is the goal, not a violation. If the project runs long, extensions are commonly available for a fee. Points and rate vary with leverage, experience, and state; you see the full term sheet before committing.

A bank cannot finance a flip on its own terms: conventional appraisals price the property as-is — torn-out kitchen and all — not at ARV; renovation budgets do not fit standard mortgage products; 45-60 day closings lose every auction and most motivated sellers; and underwriting self-employed flipper income through tax returns is a losing exercise. Renovation mortgages that do exist are consumer products for owner-occupants, not investors. The fix-and-flip lending industry exists because the deals are good and the banks structurally cannot do them.