When the deal will not wait for a bank.

Hard money — also called private money — is lending secured primarily by the property rather than by your income documentation. It exists for the deals where speed, property condition, or timing rule out a conventional lender.

What makes it different.

A conventional lender underwrites you first: income, tax returns, debt ratios, employment history. A private lender underwrites the asset first — what the property is worth, how much equity is in it, and how the loan gets paid off. That shift is what makes fast closings and unconventional properties possible.

It is not a loophole and it is not a last resort. It is a different tool with a different cost, and it is the right tool when the timeline or the property will not survive a 45-day conventional process.

Investors who need to close before a competing offer does
Purchases at auction or on a short escrow
Properties a conventional lender will not finance in current condition
Cash-out against real estate you already own
Replacing a loan that is maturing or already in default
Borrowers whose income is real but not yet documentable

The exit is the whole conversation

Private money is short-term by design. Before we arrange one, we want to know how it gets paid off — a sale, a refinance into permanent financing, or a specific event with a date on it. If the exit is not credible, the right advice is not to do the loan, and we will say so.

What a private lender is actually looking at.

The underwriting is not lighter so much as differently aimed. These are the questions that decide the deal.

The property

Value, condition, and location. Because the asset carries the loan, the appraisal or valuation does more work here than anywhere else in lending.

The equity

How much of the property’s value the loan represents. More equity means more room for the lender to be wrong, which is what buys you speed and flexibility.

The exit

How the loan ends. A signed listing agreement, a refinance you already qualify for, or a construction timeline — something concrete, not a hope.

Hard money, bridge, or something else?

These overlap and the words get used loosely. A bridge loan describes a purpose — covering the gap between buying and selling. Hard money describes how the loan qualifies — on the asset. Plenty of loans are both. What matters is not the label but whether short-term, asset-based financing genuinely beats waiting for a conventional loan in your specific situation. Sometimes it does not, and if a conventional refinance or a DSCR loan gets you there, that is what we will recommend.

What we will ask you for

The property address and, for a purchase, the contract
Your estimate of value, plus any recent appraisal or BPO
A payoff statement if there is an existing loan
Your exit plan, and the timeline behind it
Photo ID and entity documents if you are vesting in an LLC
For a rehab: scope of work, budget, and contractor information

Common questions.

How fast can a private-money loan actually close?

Considerably faster than conventional financing, because the file is not waiting on income verification. The real constraints are usually the appraisal or valuation, title work, and how quickly you return documents. Tell us your date and we will tell you honestly whether it is realistic rather than promising a number we cannot control.

Do you check credit and income at all?

Usually yes, but they carry far less weight than on a conventional loan. Credit can affect pricing and some lenders set a floor. Income matters mostly as evidence you can service the payments until the exit. The property and the equity are what carry the decision.

Is it much more expensive than a conventional loan?

Yes. You are paying for speed, flexibility, and a lender taking on more risk. Whether that cost is worth it depends entirely on what the loan lets you do — a rate that looks expensive annually may be trivial against a three-month hold that secures a property you would otherwise lose. We will lay out the total cost, not just the rate.

Can I use it for a primary residence?

Sometimes, but consumer-purpose loans on an owner-occupied home carry additional regulatory requirements and far fewer lenders participate. Most private-money lending is for investment and business-purpose transactions. Tell us the occupancy up front, because it changes which lenders can even look at the file.

What happens if my exit does not work out?

This is the risk, and it is why we push on the exit before arranging the loan. Extensions are sometimes available and sometimes expensive. The honest answer is that a private-money loan with a weak exit plan is a bad idea, which is why we would rather talk you out of one than arrange it and hope.

Tell us the deal and the deadline.

Bring us the property, the timeline, and how you plan to pay it off. We will tell you quickly whether private money is the right answer — including when it is not.