DIRECT HARD MONEY LENDER FOR RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE.

A hard money loan, also called a private money loan, is a short-term real estate loan secured by the property itself rather than by the borrower's tax returns and pay stubs. The lender underwrites the asset, the equity and the exit, which is why it can close in days instead of months. Loan Goat writes them for purchases, refinances, fix and flips, ground-up construction and bridge situations where a bank is too slow or says no. Terms and pricing depend on the property and the plan, so the first step is a quote.

A hard money loan has three cost layers: the interest rate, the origination points and the third-party closing costs (escrow, title, appraisal where one is required). Loan Goat publishes rates on its programs, for example 9.00% to 13.00% on the bridge loan and 9.99% to 12.00% on fix and flip, for qualified borrowers; points and fees are quoted per deal on the Letter of Intent. Rates and pricing are subject to change without notice and are not a commitment to lend.

You qualify on the property, the equity or down payment, a credible exit and a credit profile above the program floor, not on tax returns. Experience matters less than people expect: the bridge loan requires no borrower experience, first time flippers are allowed on fix and flip, first time investors are OK on the rental DSCR loan, and ground-up construction asks for 2 previous ground-up projects. Send the address, the numbers and the plan and we will tell you the same day whether it fits.

Loan Goat's standard is 5-7 days from application to funding, and the hard money residential and commercial bridge loans can close in as quickly as 3 days when title and valuation cooperate. What decides the speed is how fast documents come in and whether the property has title issues. Owner-occupied loans follow consumer rules and take longer.

Above a floor, yes. Loan Goat's bridge loan publishes a 650 minimum credit score, fix and flip 620 and construction 600, and above those floors a default, a notice of default, a matured loan or a bailout is weighed against the property rather than ruled out, because the property is what is being underwritten. What we need is a clear story of what happened, equity in the property and an exit we both believe in. Bridge rates run from 9.00% to 13.00%.

The 70% rule is an investor's rule of thumb, not a lender's requirement: pay no more than 70% of the after-repair value (ARV) minus the renovation cost, so the margin covers financing, holding costs and profit. It is a screening tool for flips; lenders size the loan against the purchase price, the rehab budget and the ARV. Loan Goat's fix and flip program lends up to 85% of the purchase, 100% of the rehab and 75% of ARV, so a deal that passes the 70% rule usually leaves room for the down payment and reserves.