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

Hard Money Lenders inCleveland, Ohio

Fix and flip, DSCR rental and new construction financing for Cleveland 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 Cleveland deal

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

Reviewed by Micah Foster, Founder & CEO, September 2026

Price a Cleveland deal right now

Prefilled with a realistic Cleveland 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 Cleveland

Cleveland houses are cheap to buy by big-city standards, and that is exactly why it takes discipline to flip here. The city is full of century-old wood-frame colonials and Cleveland doubles, the up-and-down two-family houses, plus 1920s and postwar bungalows out in West Park and Old Brooklyn. The west side neighborhoods have steady owner-occupant demand. The east side is cheaper and harder, and a lot of houses there pencil better as rentals than as resales.

A Cleveland deal is decided street by street, because the gap between a strong block and a weak one is huge and the price of the purchase doesn’t tell you which one you’re on. West Park, Old Brooklyn and the Detroit Shoreway area sell to owner-occupants and move quickly; parts of Slavic Village, Union-Miles and Collinwood still have vacancy, and the finished house can end up the best one on a block that appraisers won’t pay up for. Prices in the city rose sharply over the past year, which helps, but it also brought in out-of-state buyers bidding up the shells. Walk the block before you write the offer.

What a Cleveland deal looks like on paper

Cleveland example: $115,000 purchase, $45,000 rehab, $225,000 after repair value, 700 credit, first flip. The engine puts that borrower on the Best Rate program at 9.49%. Imagine a 1920s colonial near Kamm’s Corners in 44111 needing a roof, a boiler swap, a new kitchen and lead-safe paint work. Every number below is what the instant term sheet prints for that deal, so the picture cannot contradict the page.

Loan amount$142,750
Cash to close$28,731
Proof of funds to show$49,004
Where the $28,731 goes
  • Down payment (15% of the purchase)You$17,250
  • 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$3,041
  • Prepaid interest (15 days)Lender$381
  • Property insuranceInsurer$1,520
  • AppraisalAppraiser$550

Interest while you rehab: $773 a month on the $97,750 funded at closing, $1,129 once every draw is out. Proof of funds is cash to close plus $13,500 of rehab reserve and $6,773 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 Cleveland

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 Cleveland prices sit right now

Before we price a Cleveland 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 Cleveland median sale price at $150,000 for the three months ending August 2026, up 11% from a year earlier, with homes selling in about 32 days. Zillow’s home value index for the city is $120,419, down 1.4% over the year. In West Park, 44111, where our example sits, Redfin’s median is $205,000 and homes sell in about 18 days.

Median sale price, Cleveland (Redfin, 3 months to Aug 2026)$150,000
Days on market, Cleveland (Redfin)32
Zillow home value index, Cleveland (Aug 2026)$120,419
Median sale price, 44111 West Park (Redfin)$205,000
Days on market, 44111 (Redfin)18

Sources: Redfin, Cleveland housing market, Zillow, Cleveland home values, Redfin, 44111 housing market, City of Cleveland, Lead Safe Certification

How a Cleveland file actually gets priced

In Cleveland we care as much about which comps are real as what they say. A lot of sales here are investor-to-investor, cash, and unrenovated, and they drag an average down; a few retail flips on the same street tell you the actual ceiling. We use closed, financed sales of renovated houses in the same neighborhood from the last 90 days, and on a double we want rent comps for both units. Cuyahoga County’s records aren’t always right on bedroom counts and finished attics in the older colonials, so bring the floor plan.

Nearly everything in the Cleveland flip stock was built before 1978, and the city requires rental units to carry a Lead Safe Certificate, so a flip that might become a rental needs lead-safe work in the scope from day one. The other big line items are the ones a hundred-year-old house brings with it: a slate or aging shingle roof, a boiler or old gravity furnace, knob and tube wiring, clay sewer laterals and a wet basement after lake-effect winters. Permits run through the city’s Department of Building and Housing. And check that the county land bank or the city doesn’t have open violations on the address before you close, because they transfer with the house.

Who buys your finished Cleveland deal

West Park and Old Brooklyn flips sell to first-time buyers who work at the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, the airport or downtown and want a garage, a dry basement and updated mechanicals. FHA is common, so expect the inspection list. On the east side, and with doubles almost anywhere, the stronger exit is often a DSCR refinance into a rental, because rents run high compared to what the houses cost to buy. Price both before you pick your scope.

What happens after you apply

Apply once and the whole Cleveland 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 Cleveland

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 Cleveland

We broker deals across the whole Cleveland market. The submarkets investors ask us about most are West Park and Kamm’s Corners (44111), Old Brooklyn (44109), Detroit Shoreway and Cudell (44102), Jefferson and Puritas (44135), Slavic Village (44105), Collinwood (44110 / 44119), Union-Miles (44105 / 44128) and Clark-Fulton (44109 / 44113).

How long does a Cleveland 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.

Cleveland hard money FAQ

Do you lend hard money in Cleveland?
Yes. Capital Kings is a broker, not a direct lender, so we shop your Cleveland 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 Cleveland?
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 Cleveland hard money loan close?
As little as 72 hours. Most Cleveland 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 Cleveland flip?
The worked example on this page is a $115,000 Cleveland purchase with a $45,000 rehab and a $225,000 after repair value at 700 credit, first flip: $17,250 down (15% of the purchase) and $28,731 total cash to close, with $49,004 of proof of funds to show the lender. The lowest down payment for a first flip in Cleveland 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 Cleveland?
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 Cleveland fix and flip loan?
One Cleveland 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 Cleveland flip into a rental loan?
Yes. That is the BRRRR exit, and it is the most common way a Cleveland 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.
Should I flip or hold a Cleveland house?
It depends on the block. On the west side, in West Park, Old Brooklyn and around Detroit Shoreway, a well-done flip sells to an owner-occupant and the resale math usually works. In the cheaper east side neighborhoods, the finished value often doesn’t support a full retail renovation, but the rent does, so a rental refinance with a DSCR loan is the cleaner exit. We price both on the same deal so you can see which one works.
What does the lead-safe rule mean for a Cleveland flip?
If the house was built before 1978 and could end up rented, the city expects it to pass a lead-safe inspection and carry a certificate. Even if you plan to sell, your buyer might be a landlord, and doing the paint, windows and friction surfaces the lead-safe way during the rehab costs far less than going back later. Put it in the budget and the draw schedule.
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 Cleveland: Columbus. More Ohio city guides: Akron, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo. Or see everything we fund in Ohio.

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