Hard Money Lenders in Cincinnati, OH | Capital Kings LLC
Capital Kings LLC · Non-QM Mortgage Broker

Hard Money Lenders inCincinnati, Ohio

Fix and flip, DSCR rental and new construction financing for Cincinnati investors. We do not lend our own money, we shop your deal across a 400+ lender network and come back with real terms you can compare on total cost.

Get a term sheet →Price a Cincinnati deal

Prefer to talk it through? Call or text Micah at (281) 636-5682.

Reviewed by Micah Foster, Founder & CEO, September 2026

Price a Cincinnati deal right now

Prefilled with a realistic Cincinnati deal. Change any number and it reprices on the programs that lend in Ohio, with the same math as our term sheets.

Sizing your flip on the same terms as the term sheet. Get a real term sheet →

Financing a deal in Cincinnati

Cincinnati is a city of fifty-some neighborhoods stacked on hills, and each one trades like its own small town. The flippable stock is solid: brick Tudors, four-squares and bungalows from the 1910s through the 1940s, a lot of them built better than anything you could afford to build today. The west side, Westwood, Price Hill and Covedale, is where the volume is. The east side neighborhoods like Madisonville and Pleasant Ridge cost more to buy and sell for more.

What decides a Cincinnati flip is the hill. Views, slope, stairs from the street, retaining walls and whether the lot is sliding all change the price, and they can change it between two houses on the same block. The market overall is flat, prices up less than a percent this year and days on market longer than last year, so there’s no rising tide to cover a thin buy. The investors who do well here buy solid brick on stable ground, fix the systems, and finish to the neighborhood rather than above it.

What a Cincinnati deal looks like on paper

Cincinnati example: $135,000 purchase, $50,000 rehab, $255,000 after repair value, 700 credit, first flip. The engine puts that borrower on the Best Rate program at 9.49%. For example, a 1930s brick Tudor in West Price Hill, 45238, with a dated kitchen, one bath, an old boiler and a sloped back yard. Every number below is what the instant term sheet prints for that deal, so the picture cannot contradict the page.

Loan amount$164,750
Cash to close$32,145
Proof of funds to show$53,462
Where the $32,145 goes
  • Down payment (15% of the purchase)You$20,250
  • Origination (0.5%)Lender$2,000
  • Lender fees (flat)Lender$1,989
  • Broker fee (1%)Broker$2,000
  • Title and closing (estimate at Texas rates)Title$3,150
  • Prepaid interest (15 days)Lender$448
  • Property insuranceInsurer$1,758
  • AppraisalAppraiser$550

Interest while you rehab: $907 a month on the $114,750 funded at closing, $1,303 once every draw is out. Proof of funds is cash to close plus $13,500 of rehab reserve and $7,817 of interest reserve. Sample borrower, sample address; the sheet is issued by the same engine as the borrower’s instant term sheet.

Fix and flip programs in Cincinnati

Swipe the table for rates, credit and terms →

ProgramDown paymentMin creditExperienceRateOriginationMax loanTermClose
Best Rate15% of purchase700+First flip OK8.99% to 9.49%0.5%70% of ARV12 months5-14 days
First Flip, 10% Down110% of purchase + rehab660+First flip OK9.99%2%75% of ARV12 months21-30 days
7.5% Down, 3+ Flips27.5% of purchase + rehab660+3+ completed flips9.99%1.5%75% of ARV12 months21-30 days
5% Down, 5+ Flips35% of purchase660+5+ completed flips9.99% to 10.99%2%75% of ARV9-24 months10-14 days
100% Financing, 2+ Flips40% (100% financing)620+2+ completed flips9.50% to 12.00%2.5%70% of ARV9 months7-14 days
Fastest Close (3 days)10% of purchaseNo minimumFirst flip OK11.99%2%75% of ARV6 months72 hours
  1. Rate 9.99% with 2% to 2.25% origination by credit; more origination buys the rate down as far as 8.99%. Loans under $150,000 add 0.5% to the rate and 0.5% to the origination, under $100,000 1.5% and 1%. Under 680 credit the loan caps at 87.5% of cost. Standard interest, charged only on funds drawn. The loan is capped at a share of purchase plus rehab, the full rehab held back for draws, and the ARV must be at least 1.25 times purchase plus rehab. Processing $500, legal $1,495 and underwriting $795.
  2. Rate 9.99% with 1.5% to 1.75% origination by credit; more origination buys the rate down as far as 8.99%. Loans under $150,000 add 0.5% to the rate and 0.5% to the origination, under $100,000 1.5% and 1%. Under 680 credit the loan caps at 90% of cost. Standard interest, charged only on funds drawn. The loan is capped at a share of purchase plus rehab, the full rehab held back for draws, and the ARV must be at least 1.25 times purchase plus rehab. Processing $500, legal $1,495 and underwriting $795.
  3. Rate is set per file from 9.99%; origination about 2% plus a $995 processing fee.
  4. Needs 2 completed flips in the last two years and about $75,000 in verified liquidity. Rate 9.5% to 12% with 2% to 3% origination, set per file. Purchase plus rehab must fit under 70% of ARV.

Origination has a $2,000 minimum on most programs (a few lenders set a higher one, noted above) and our broker fee is 1% with a $2,000 minimum and a $10,000 maximum. These are the numbers our term sheets use as of October 2026. Strong credit, cash and a track record can price lower through specific lenders in the network.

Where Cincinnati prices sit right now

Before we price a Cincinnati flip, we look at where sales in the city sit today. Your block can run well above or below these numbers, so treat them as the starting point, not the answer.

Redfin puts the Cincinnati median sale price at $286,000 for the three months ending August 2026, up 0.5% from a year earlier, with homes selling in about 49 days compared to 45 a year ago. Zillow’s home value index for the city is $249,297, up 0.5%. In West Price Hill and Covedale, 45238, where our example sits, Redfin’s median is $235,000, down 2.1%.

Median sale price, Cincinnati (Redfin, 3 months to Aug 2026)$286,000
Days on market, Cincinnati (Redfin)49
Zillow home value index, Cincinnati (Aug 2026)$249,297
Median sale price, 45238 (Redfin)$235,000
Days on market, 45238 (Redfin)43

Sources: Redfin, Cincinnati housing market, Zillow, Cincinnati home values, Redfin, 45238 housing market

How a Cincinnati file actually gets priced

Hamilton County appraisers stay inside the named neighborhood, and in Cincinnati that’s the right call, because West Price Hill and East Price Hill are different markets, and Westwood north of Harrison Avenue sells differently from the south end. We use closed sales from the last 90 days in the same neighborhood and style, a brick Tudor against brick Tudors, and we look at lot condition in the photos. A comp with a flat yard and a driveway isn’t the same house as one with thirty steps up from the sidewalk, even at the same square footage.

Cincinnati has a long and expensive history with landslides, and the hillsides on the west side and along the river bluffs are where it shows up. Look for cracked retaining walls, leaning fences and doors that stick in the lower level, and get the slope looked at before you close. The older brick stock needs tuckpointing, box gutters that leak into the walls, and lead-safe paint practices. Building permits go through the city’s Department of Buildings and Inspections, and exterior work in the local historic districts, Over-the-Rhine and several others, goes through historic review first. Along Mill Creek and the river, check the flood map.

Who buys your finished Cincinnati deal

The finished Cincinnati house sells to someone working at the hospitals, the university, P&G, Kroger or the GE Aerospace plant up in Evendale, and on the west side that buyer is often from the neighborhood already. They want a second bath, a dry basement and a place to park, which is harder to add than it sounds on a hillside lot. Rentals are a real second exit, especially doubles and four-squares near the University of Cincinnati and the Uptown hospitals, where a DSCR refinance often fits better than a sale.

What happens after you apply

Apply once and the whole Cincinnati loan lives in the borrower portal: the term sheet you can accept and sign in the browser, where the loan stands, one place for documents, and the list of what the lender is still waiting on. These are real screens from the portal.

Capital Kings borrower portal: Welcome to your file
Welcome to your fileSign in and the term sheet is waiting, with every fee and who it goes to.
Capital Kings borrower portal: Where the loan stands
Where the loan standsApplication, appraisal, title, underwriting, clear to close.
Capital Kings borrower portal: Run the deal again
Run the deal againThe analyzer priced off your real numbers, before and after the appraisal.
Capital Kings borrower portal: What the lender still needs
What the lender still needsEvery open condition, what clears it, and who it is waiting on.

The full walkthrough is on how it works, and you can tour the borrower portal before you apply.

What we fund in Cincinnati

Fix and flip

10%down on a first flip
Rates
from 8.99% at 760+ credit
With experience
0% down with 2+ completed flips, purchase plus rehab under 70% of ARV
Rehab
100% funded, paid in draws
Fix and flip loans in Ohio →

Rental (DSCR)

7.00%rates from, 30-year fixed
Qualify on
the rent, no W-2s or tax returns
Down
from 20% at 700+ credit
Good for
buy-and-hold, and the refinance when a flip becomes a rental
DSCR loans in Ohio →

New construction

95%of cost with a financed interest reserve, after 1 completed build
Rates
from 8.49% with 5+ completed builds
First build
85% of cost with a GC who has 5+ builds
Builds
single family to small multifamily
New construction loans in Ohio →

Where we lend in Cincinnati

We broker deals across the whole Cincinnati market. The submarkets investors ask us about most are West Price Hill and Covedale (45238), Westwood (45211), Northside (45223), Madisonville (45227), College Hill (45224), Carthage and Hartwell (45215 / 45216), Mount Washington (45230) and Pleasant Ridge (45213).

How long does a Cincinnati loan take to fund?

You send the address, purchase price, rehab budget and your ARV, which takes about five minutes and no credit pull. We take it to the lenders in our network that fit it and are licensed in Ohio, and the rate, origination, leverage and cash to close come back side by side. 5-14 days to fund, as little as 72 hours on the fastest programs. We stay on title and the lender through funding.

Cincinnati hard money FAQ

Do you lend hard money in Cincinnati?
Yes. Capital Kings is a broker, not a direct lender, so we shop your Cincinnati scenario across a 400+ lender network and bring back real terms instead of one lender’s rate sheet. The programs on this page are the ones whose lenders are licensed in Ohio, and the numbers come from the same engine that prices our instant term sheet.
Which fix and flip programs apply in Cincinnati?
As of October 2026: Best Rate (15% down, from 8.99%); First Flip, 10% Down (10% down, from 9.99%); 7.5% Down, 3+ Flips (7.5% down, from 9.99%, 3+ completed flips); 5% Down, 5+ Flips (5% down, from 9.99%, 5+ completed flips); 100% Financing, 2+ Flips (100% financing when purchase plus rehab fits under 70% of ARV, from 9.50%, 2+ completed flips); Fastest Close (3 days) (10% down, from 11.99%). Rehab is funded 100 percent in draws on every one of them, and we shop the file against the rest of the network before anything is signed.
How fast can a Cincinnati hard money loan close?
As little as 72 hours. Most Cincinnati fix and flip files fund in 5-14 days once the file is complete, and the 72-hour programs close that fast when title and insurance are ready. The First Flip, 10% Down program and the 7.5% Down, 3+ Flips program close in 21-30 days. The biggest delays are usually title issues or missing borrower documents, so getting those started early makes a big difference.
How much do I need to bring to close on a Cincinnati flip?
The worked example on this page is a $135,000 Cincinnati purchase with a $50,000 rehab and a $255,000 after repair value at 700 credit, first flip: $20,250 down (15% of the purchase) and $32,145 total cash to close, with $53,462 of proof of funds to show the lender. The lowest down payment for a first flip in Cincinnati is 10% down from 9.99% at 660+ credit. Investors with a track record can go to 0% down (100% financing) from 9.50% at 620+ credit with 2+ completed flips, when purchase plus rehab fits under 70% of ARV, and you still bring the closing costs in cash. Rehab is funded 100 percent through draws in every case. Run your own numbers in the calculator above, or send us the deal and we will price it.
Do you fund the rehab budget in Cincinnati?
Yes, 100 percent of the rehab is funded, but it is a holdback released in draws rather than cash at closing. You pay for each phase, request a draw, an inspector verifies the work, and the lender reimburses. That means you need working capital to float the first phase, which is the single most common thing new investors miss on their first deal.
What credit score do I need for a Cincinnati fix and flip loan?
One Cincinnati program has no credit floor at all, it is priced on speed rather than credit. The lowest rate here, 8.99%, needs 760+ credit. Depending on the program, rates step down at 760 credit and origination steps down at 700 and 740. Credit matters less here than on a conventional loan because the deal carries the file, but it moves your rate and your leverage, so know where you stand before you make offers.
Can I refinance a Cincinnati flip into a rental loan?
Yes. That is the BRRRR exit, and it is the most common way a Cincinnati flip becomes a hold. A DSCR loan qualifies on the property’s rental income rather than your W-2, so once the rehab is done and it is leased, you refinance out of the short-term hard money loan into 30-year financing. Worth deciding before you start, because it changes what finish level makes sense.
How do Cincinnati hillsides affect a flip loan?
They add a line to the inspection and sometimes to the budget. If a house sits on a slope, we want to know about retaining walls, drainage and any sign the ground is moving before the term sheet goes out, because a slide repair can cost more than the kitchen. Most hillside houses are fine. The ones that aren’t tend to show it, so read the lower level walls and the yard, not just the finishes.
Are west side or east side Cincinnati neighborhoods better for flipping?
The west side has more houses at flip prices and steady local buyers, so it’s where most of the volume is. The east side, Madisonville, Pleasant Ridge and Mount Washington, costs more to buy and supports a higher resale, but the margin isn’t automatically bigger. Run both through the calculator and compare cash to close, not just the profit line.
Micah Foster
Micah Foster
Founder & CEO, Capital Kings LLC
Micah brokers Non-QM and hard money loans for real estate investors across 38 states from his base in Texas. He founded Capital Kings to give investors a broker who shops the market on their behalf instead of pitching one lender product.

What to read before you sign a term sheet

Hard money near Cincinnati: Dayton, Louisville, Lexington and Covington. More Ohio city guides: Akron, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo. Or see everything we fund in Ohio.

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