7 Best Hard Money Lenders in Louisiana
Key Terms
- A hard money loan is a type of real estate-backed loan that provides investors access to competitive interest rates and terms.
- Many hard money lenders offer these loans for flippers, rental real estate investments, and bridge loans on hard-to-finance properties.
- Louisiana hard money lenders are available with competitive interest rates and terms to support investor needs.
Louisiana is a beautiful state with much to offer. It’s located in the Deep South, located on the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Many know of the state for its largest city, New Orleans or Baton Rouge. Its strong multicultural background that mixes French with Spanish, Native American, and West African has created one of the most diverse areas in the country. With a long history and some of the most coastal marsh and swamp areas in the country, Louisiana offers a truly unique lifestyle. It’s home to 4.6 million people and has an economy that’s often focused on fishing, tourism, oil and natural gas production, and agricultural product production.
The cost of living in Louisiana is one of the most affordable in the country. Yet, the real estate market remains highly competitive. Residential property values have risen over time, creating equity for many people. Interest rates remain low, too. The median purchase price of a home in Louisiana is $227,500, according to the Louisiana Realtors Association, though many areas have home values much lower than this.
In addition to affordable real estate, Louisiana has a rather large population that rents their homes. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, about 69.8% of people in the state own their homes, and 30.2% rent them. There is demand for rental properties in this area. You will find that this is an excellent way for property owners to create an income stream in various areas of the city, especially the outskirts of New Orleans and Baton Rouge in places like Lake Charles and Shreveport. About 6.6% of rentals are vacant throughout the state. There is the potential, then, for new rental investment here.
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How Louisiana hard money loans work
A hard money loan could help some borrowers invest in fix and flip homes, rental properties, and other hard-to-finance real estate projects. This loan type is secured by the property itself. This is one of the reasons hard money lenders in Louisiana can offer loans on these properties. Should the buyer default on the loan in any way, the lender has the ability to force the sale of the property through the foreclosure process. This allows the lender to get back at least some of their investment. As a result, this creates a bit less risk for that lender.
Hard money lenders can be private individuals, groups of individuals, and other financial institutions that come together to loan on these higher risk projects. These lenders set the terms and conditions for their loans, and many have credit score and down payment requirements of borrowers. However, they tend to offer loans on properties that may have more difficulty getting a loan from a traditional bank due to the higher risk of default. For those who wish to borrow through hard money loans in Louisiana, it is essential to find the right lender for the specific type of project and one willing to offer competitive loan terms.
Hard money loans tend to be short term loans that are paid off or refinanced within 1 to 5 years in most cases. These loans tend to have a higher interest rate than traditional bank loans as well, though many factors can help to keep those costs lower. It is also important to know that most hard money lenders will work with borrowers to create a loan that works for the situation, but there is a requirement for the borrower to have experience or some other reassurance to the lender that the project will turn out well. That can be hard to prove in some situations.
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7 Top Louisiana hard money lenders
If you’re ready to learn more about the best hard money lenders in Louisiana, here are the top options we’ve found through our research.
1. Tidal Loans
Tidal Loans is based in Houston but provides hard money lending to real estate investors located in many states across the United States. They primarily focused on fix and flip loans, multifamily properties, bridge loans and rental property loans.
We contacted Tidal Loans to learn more about their private lending business and here are some of the highlights:
- Rental property loans available for up to 30-year terms and a cash out of up to 80% LTV.
- Interest only for three or five years
- 85% LTV available on purchase properties
- No experience required
- No tax returns required
When you’re ready to connect with a loan officer, use our form to quickly match with eligible loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
2. New Silver
New Silver started in 2019 by Kirill Bensenoff and Alex Shvayetsky. They offer a variety of private money lending products like fix and flip, rental, ground up and personal loans.
We contacted New Silver Lending to learn more about their private lending business and here are some of the highlights:
- Origination fee from 1.875%
- Loan to cost up to 90%
- 100% construction financing available
- Loan to ARV up to 80%
- Terms are typically 24 months
- Loan amounts are from $100,000 to $5 million
- Minimum FICO score is 650
- No hard credit pull required
When you’re ready to connect with a loan officer, use our form to quickly match with eligible loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
3. Stratton Equities
Stratton Equities is a nationwide direct hard money lender for real estate investors. Founded by Michael Mikhail in 2017, Stratton Equities has over five years of experience in the private lending market.
We reached out to Stratton Equities to get more information about their hard money lending program and here are some highlights:
- Loan amounts from $100,000 up to $5 million
- Investment properties only
- Single-Family property types, Condos, Townhomes, Multi-Family, Commercial, Mixed-Use, Office, Retail, Industrial and Warehouse are all ok
- Up to a 75% LTV
- Rates start at 7.25%
- Interest only payments
- Loan terms are 9-24 months
- Foreign nationals are eligible
- No prepayment penalty option is available
When you’re ready to connect with a loan officer, use our form to quickly match with eligible loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
4. HouseMax Funding
HouseMax Funding is based out of Austin, Texas but has a national footprint when it comes to real estate industry lending. Started by Jeff Fetcher and Alex Morris, HouseMax provides asset-based loan financing to investors for real estate transactions.
We reached out to HouseMax to learn more about their hard money lending program and here is what we found:
- Minimum loan amount is $75,000
- Lends up to 75% of the after-repair value (APV)
- 1-3 points origination fees
- 3 months reserves required
- Direct lender that approves loans internally and funds using their own private capital.
- Lends in urban and suburban communities in all 50 states.
- Goal is to close loans in 10 days or less.
- Specializes in fix & flip loans, construction loans and rental loans
- Multi-family and commercial properties are ok
When you’re ready to connect with a loan officer, use our form to quickly match with eligible loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
5. Easy Street Capital
East Street Capital is based in Austin, Texas but lends nationwide except in North and South Dakota. Founded by Stephen Hagerman in 2016, Easy Street Capital has over six years of experience in the real estate investing world.
We reached out to Easy Street Capital to learn more about their hard money loans and this is what we found:
- Interest rates range from 6.9% – 10.9%
- Points range from 2-3
- There is a $1495 document fee
- No minimum credit score required
- Down payments of at least 10% required
- Renovation financing ok
- Fix and Flip loans do not typically have prepayment penalties
When you’re ready to connect with a loan officer, use our form to quickly match with eligible loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
6. EquityMax
EquityMax is based out of Florida and most of its business in the state but is able to lend throughout the United States. Founded by Brad Emmer in 1990, EquityMax has decades of experience as a hard money lender.
We reached out to EquityMax to learn more about their hard money loans and these are the key highlights that you need to know:
- Single Family Homes
- 1-4 Multi-Unit Properties
- Condos and Townhomes ok
- Commercial property and Industrial Warehouses OK
- Direct lender that has decision making over financing deals.
- Can originate loans to individuals, LLCs, corporations, land trusts and self-directed IRAs.
- No prepayment penalties
- No minimum credit score required
When you’re ready to connect with a loan officer, use our form to quickly match with eligible loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
7. LendSimpli
LendSimpli is a hard money lender based in Tampa, Florida. They can lend nationally in most states but may not be able to lend if the property is in a rural area. Founded by Brenden Crampton and Matthew Davies in 2018, they have nearly four years of experience in the private lending real estate investing market.
We reached out to LendSimpli to get more details about their bridge loan product and this is what we found:
- Loan amounts up to $5 million for 1-4 unit properties
- Loan amounts up to $20 million for 5+ unit properties
- Single family (1-4 units)
- Multifamily (5-20 units)
- No owner-occupied properties
- Loan terms 12-24 months
- Interest-only payments with rates starting at 8.50%
- Max LTC is 90% of project costs
- Minimum credit score is 660
- Prefer that you have at least two transactions in the past three years
When you’re ready to connect with a loan officer, use our form to quickly match with eligible loan programs based on your specific circumstances.
How are Louisiana hard money loans different from other loans?
Hard money loans in Louisiana differ from traditional bank loans for multiple reasons. The biggest difference is in the properties that tend to qualify for these loans. They are generally hard to finance properties rather than owner-occupied real estate. This includes rental income properties such as properties with 2 to 4 units or single-family homes. They could also be vacation homes. They are also sometimes bridge loans, such as for construction projects. Investors may find these loans are also used for fix and flip properties, which typically require a significant amount of renovation.
One key benefit of these loans is that they often use the after repair value of the home to determine if the property is eligible. That’s different from a traditional bank that bases the available funds on just the current value of the home. For borrowers who are looking to purchase property to upscale and improve to resell at a profit, this can be a very good opportunity.
Louisiana hard money loans have a higher interest rate, often ranging from 8 to 15%, which is much higher than what could be expected from a loan through a bank or credit union. However, these loans also have very short terms, usually under 5 years. Though they have higher costs in terms of interest rates and fees, the short term helps to keep those costs a bit more manageable.
Another key difference is that most Louisiana hard money lenders can help to fund projects quickly, closing on the loan faster. That happens because there are fewer underwriting requirements as well as more lenient terms and conditions. Like traditional loans, credit scores and down payments are factors in obtaining these loans, but lenders may be more flexible in being able to create opportunities as long as they see the potential in the property.
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