Hard money lender in Dallas and Fort Worth
Fix and flip, ground up construction, bridge and DSCR rental loans across the Metroplex, funded from our own capital. Two very different housing markets under one name, and we underwrite them differently.
Two markets, one metro
Dallas and Fort Worth trade differently and it shows up in underwriting. In the Dallas inner ring, particularly East Dallas and Oak Cliff, renovated product prices high relative to the basis, so the after repair value is the number that decides the loan. Get the ARV right and the rest follows.
Fort Worth, and the mid cities between the two, tends to run on older and smaller stock at a lower entry price. There, the binding constraint is usually the rehab budget: scope creep on a 1940s frame house with original systems is the thing that turns a profitable file into a break even one.
North of both, in Collin and Denton counties, the volume is construction and build to rent rather than renovation, and the underwriting question shifts to cost certainty and lease up.
What we fund here
- Full rehab on inner ring Dallas stock in Oak Cliff, Pleasant Grove and Old East Dallas
- Fort Worth renovation in Fairmount, Riverside, Poly and the Near Southside
- Infill new construction and townhomes on lots inside both loops
- Build to rent communities in the northern suburbs, exiting into portfolio DSCR debt
- Bridge on small multifamily and mixed use throughout the mid cities
- DSCR rental loans and portfolio refinances across the metro
Where DFW files go wrong
The most common problem is an ARV supported by sales that are not really comparable. The Metroplex has hard neighborhood edges, and a sale six blocks away can be in a different school attendance zone, a different city, or a different price tier entirely. Bring the comps you used and say why they apply.
The second is entitlement. Both cities zone, and a project that needs a change is on a municipal calendar, not yours. We fund construction where the permit path is clear and carry the land while it is not.
Programs available in Dallas and Fort Worth
| Program | Loan size | Max leverage | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fix and flip | $100K to $3MM | 90% purchase 100% rehab 75% of ARV | 12 to 18 mo |
| Ground up construction | $250K to $5MM | 85% of cost 70% of finished value | 12 to 24 mo |
| Bridge | $150K to $5MM | 75% purchase 70% cash out | 12 to 24 mo |
| DSCR rental | $100K to $3MM | 80% purchase 75% cash out | 30 yr |
Illustrative ranges for well structured transactions, not an offer or a commitment to lend. Business purpose loans only.
Commercial financing in Dallas and Fort Worth
Everything above is our own money on residential and small balance property. For stabilized and income producing commercial real estate in Dallas and Fort Worth, apartments over five units, retail centers, office, industrial and flex, self storage, hotels and owner occupied buildings, we act as a broker and shop the file nationally. That side of the business works in all 50 states. See commercial real estate loans, or go straight to multifamily or SBA 504 and 7(a).
Lending in Dallas and Fort Worth
Is Dallas underwritten differently from Fort Worth?
Yes, because the housing stock and the price curves are different. Dallas inner ring neighborhoods move on renovated comps and can support a high finished price on a small lot, which makes ARV discipline the binding constraint. Fort Worth has more older, smaller stock at a lower basis, which usually means the rehab budget and the scope are what decide the file. Same credit box, different pressure point.
Do you finance build to rent?
Yes, and the northern suburbs are where most of it happens. Horizontal build to rent gets financed as ground up construction and exits into a portfolio DSCR loan once the units are leased. We want the exit underwritten at the start: achievable rents supported by comparable leases, not by a spreadsheet, and a coverage ratio that survives a slower lease up.
How does Dallas zoning affect a construction deal?
Unlike Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth both zone, so the entitlement question is real. A plan that needs a zoning change, a specific use permit or a variance is entitlement risk, and we do not fund entitlement risk on a construction loan. If the property is already zoned for what you intend to build and the permit path is clear, it is a normal file. If it is not, a land bridge to carry you through the process is the right structure.
What about historic districts and conservation districts?
Several of the best rehab neighborhoods in both cities sit inside historic or conservation districts, which means exterior changes go through a review process with its own calendar. Certificates of appropriateness take time and can reshape a scope. Tell us at submission if the property is in one. The deal is usually financeable, but the schedule and sometimes the budget change, and we would rather build that into the term than discover it at month four.
Do you lend on properties in the southern suburbs?
Yes. DeSoto, Lancaster, Cedar Hill, Waxahachie and the rest of the southern arc are financeable, generally at similar leverage, provided the comparable sales support the after repair value. The thing to watch in the outer southern and eastern suburbs is comp thinness: fewer recent renovated sales makes an appraisal harder to support, so we look closely at what the finished product will actually be measured against.
How do I handle a competitive Metroplex bidding situation?
That is what a bridge loan is for. Talk to us before you bid, not after, so the valuation path is set and you know what the file will support. A short option period is much easier to work with when it is planned rather than discovered.
Every deal gets a real answer
Tell us the property, the plan and the number you need. A credit officer reads it and tells you what it will support.
- Texas hard money. A term sheet from the people who fund the loan.
- Commercial, all 50 states. Quotes from the desks that cover your asset.
- Outside the box? A straight reason, and usually a name that does fund it.