/PROGRAM · Business purpose
Fix and flip and bridge loans
Banks won’t touch non-owner-occupied short-term deals, conventional timelines don’t fit a five-to-ten-day settlement window, and a single lender will cap how many concurrent loans one borrower or entity can carry.
- Scope
- Business-purpose loan. Available in any state. Not for owner-occupied properties.
- Best if
- the deal has a defined exit and a clock already running on it.
- Not for
- a long-term hold you intend to keep financed as it is.
- First step
- Send the purchase contract, the scope of work, and your exit plan.
Short-term capital to buy and renovate a non-owner-occupied property, or to bridge one. Underwritten on the deal, your experience and the exit, not on W-2 income.
Who a fix and flip or bridge loan is for
High-volume flipper
Six to fifteen-plus a year, run like a business, hitting one lender’s concurrent-exposure ceiling.
First-time flipper
Earnest money out of savings or a HELOC, and a bank that says it doesn’t do investment rehab loans.
BRRRR investor
Needs the rehab loan and the DSCR takeout lined up together rather than starting over at seasoning.
Wholesaler turned flipper
Strong at sourcing, no renovation track record on paper, and a tight inherited close date.
Deal at risk
Financing just fell through, or an all-cash offer now has to actually fund, against a hard deadline.
How a fix and flip or bridge loan works
- 01
Send the purchase contract, the scope of work, and your exit plan.
- 02
Underwriting centers on the deal, the after-repair picture, your experience and the liquidity behind you.
- 03
Confirm the borrowing entity matches the deed early. It is the most common thing that slows a file down.
- 04
If the exit is to hold and rent, I line up the DSCR takeout at the same time so you are not scrambling at seasoning.
Worth knowing
Small rehab deals other desks turn away
Some rehab lenders publish no minimum loan size. Most set a floor that rules small-balance flips out entirely. If a deal was too small for the desk you already asked, it is worth a second look here.
Questions about a fix and flip or bridge loan
I don’t have a contractor bid yet.
That is fine at this stage. Send a rough scope of work and I will tell you what the file eventually needs, so you are not scrambling for it later.
I’ve never done a flip. Will I qualify?
It’s less about a track record on day one and more about the deal, the exit plan, and having some liquidity behind you. Experience and reserve overlays are lender-specific.
I already have a bridge lender.
That’s fine. The piece most people don’t have lined up is the DSCR takeout. I can be the backup for the refinance side.
How long until I can refinance out?
That depends on the lender’s seasoning requirement and how the property performs once leased. I’d rather map your specific one than guess.
I need to close in a week. Is that possible?
It depends how complete the file is. Get me the purchase contract, entity docs and exit plan and we’ll know quickly whether the timing works. I won’t promise a closing date I can’t hit.
Related reading
All guides →What a bridge lender actually underwrites on a flip
Not your pay stubs. Four things, and the exit matters most.
How to refinance out of a hard money loan before the clock runs out
A hard money loan is built to be short. The exit is the part of the plan that deserves the most attention, and it is the part most often left until the end.
How BRRRR financing works, one loan at a time
Buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat is usually described as a strategy. Underneath it are separate loans, and each one has to hand off cleanly to the next.
Send this scenario
Tell me the property and the plan and I’ll come back with what’s eligible. Eligibility and terms vary by scenario.