Hard Money Loan Costs in 2026: Points, Interest, and Fees

Hard Money Loan Costs in 2026: What Flippers Need to Price First

Hard money is priced around the property and the plan, not your W-2 history or long-term income. Lenders underwrite the purchase price, the rehab scope, and the resale value, then charge for speed and risk on the front end. That’s why the total cost of a flip loan lives in two places: cash you hand over at closing, and carry you pay every month the project stays open.

Four charges do most of the damage:

• Points — an upfront fee stated as a percentage of the loan amount. Two points on a $300,000 loan is $6,000 due at closing, on top of your down payment and reserves.
• Interest rate — the annual cost of borrowing, usually paid monthly and interest-only. A $300,000 balance at 11% runs about $2,750 a month, so a six-month timeline costs roughly $16,500 in carry.
• Origination fee — the lender’s charge for processing and funding the file, sometimes quoted instead of points, sometimes alongside them.
• Closing costs — appraisal or valuation, title search and title insurance, escrow, recording, and any attorney or document prep fees.

Industry guides put current pricing in a wide band: a 2026 hard money rate outlook cites 9.5%–13% with 1.5–3 points on first-position loans, while Nav’s explainer on hard money loans shows 7%–15% interest and 2%–10% in points.

Next: how 2026 quotes are built, a full deal-level cost breakdown, what to compare among Kansas City lenders, and answers to the questions flippers ask most.

How Hard Money Lenders Price Loans in 2026

Most 2026 pricing on first-position rehab debt lands in a fairly narrow band: roughly 9.5% to 13% interest with 1.5 to 3 points at origination, and repeat borrowers with clean track records sometimes see “1-and-1” or zero-point structures, according to Hard Money Home’s 2026 rate outlook. Broader market references quote wider spreads — Nav’s explainer on how hard money loans work cites 7% to 15% interest and 2% to 10% in points — so the honest answer is that your quote depends on experience, leverage, and exit plan. Compare the fee stack, not just the headline rate.

Here’s the math on a sample flip. Say you borrow $300,000 (purchase plus initial draw) at 11% interest-only with 2 points, held six months:

• Points: $300,000 × 2% = $6,000 upfront
• Monthly interest: $300,000 × 11% ÷ 12 = $2,750
• Six months of carry: $16,500
• Total financing cost: $22,500, plus closing costs and any draw or extension fees

Now shift one variable. Same loan at 9.75% but 3 points: origination climbs to $9,000, monthly interest drops to about $2,438, and six months of carry runs $14,625 — $23,625 total. The lower rate costs more dollars on a short hold. Flip the hold to twelve months and the ranking reverses, because the rate does the compounding work while points stay fixed.

That’s why the cheapest advertised rate is not automatically the cheapest deal. Three things move real cost as much as the rate: how fast the lender can close (a slow close can lose the property), whether interest accrues on undrawn rehab funds or only on money actually disbursed, and how quickly draws get inspected and funded. A one-week delay on a $300,000 loan at 11% costs roughly $640 in interest — and far more if it costs you the contract.

A Simple Cost Table for Points and Rate Combinations

To compare offers, hold everything constant except price. The table below uses a $300,000 first-position loan, interest-only, held for nine months — a realistic timeline for a purchase, renovation, and resale. The rate and point combinations sit inside the ranges reported for 2026, roughly 9.5%–13% with 1.5–3 points on first-position deals, per Hard Money Home’s 2026 rate outlook, while Nav’s explainer on how these loans work cites a wider market band of 7%–15% interest and 2%–10% points.

Pricing structure	Points paid upfront	Interest over 9 months	Total dollars paid
0 points / 13.0%	$0	$29,250	$29,250
1 point / 12.5%	$3,000	$28,125	$31,125
2 points / 11.0%	$6,000	$24,750	$30,750
3 points / 9.5%	$9,000	$21,375	$30,375

The lesson isn’t that one row wins. On a nine-month hold, the points-light option costs least. Stretch the same deal to 15 months and the 3-point, 9.5% structure runs about $44,625 versus $48,750 for zero points at 13% — buying the rate down pays off only if you hold long enough.

Two adjustments change these totals. If interest accrues only on drawn rehab funds rather than the full commitment, your real interest lands below the table. And appraisal, title, doc, and inspection-draw fees sit on top of every row.

What Kansas City Flippers Should Compare in a Hard Money Lender

Pricing tells you what a deal costs. These four criteria tell you whether the loan will actually close and fund on schedule.

Speed to close. Distressed inventory in Kansas City moves fast, and sellers of estate properties and auction listings often favor a non-contingent offer over a higher price with a financing contingency. Some regional lenders advertise closings in roughly 7 to 10 days on fix-to-flip files. Treat that as a starting point for the conversation, not a promise — ask what the timeline assumes about appraisal, title, and entity documents, and get it confirmed in writing before you commit earnest money.

Rehab draw process. This is where flippers lose margin. Ask three concrete questions: Are draws released in stages tied to completed scope items, or reimbursed after you pay out of pocket? How many business days from inspection request to wire? What documentation triggers a draw — photos, contractor invoices, a third-party inspection, or lien waivers? Some lenders charge interest only on drawn rehab funds rather than the full holdback, which meaningfully changes your carry cost on a six-month project.

Property eligibility. Much of the local flip supply is older single-family housing stock, plus small multifamily in neighborhoods where knob-and-tube wiring, foundation work, and outdated systems are common. Confirm the lender funds pre-1950 construction, heavier rehab scopes, and the property class you’re actually buying — some programs cap rehab budgets or exclude gut renovations.

Exit strategy fluency. A lender that underwrites to your after-repair value and your resale timeline behaves differently at month five than one that only underwrites the purchase.

How Aspire Mortgage Fits a Kansas City Flip Financing Search

Aspire Mortgage is an Omaha-based broker that works only on business-purpose loans for real estate investors — DSCR home loans, bridge home loans, new construction, BRRRR financing, and the rehab-focused product outlined on its fix and flip home loan page — with lending in roughly 35 states, Missouri and Kansas among them.

Two things a flipper can actually test: underwriting that looks at the deal (purchase price, rehab budget, resale value) rather than personal pay stubs, which suits self-employed operators; and the broker model, where one application can be shopped across several lender programs instead of accepting a single lender’s points-and-rate grid.

The tradeoff is equally concrete. A broker is not the entity wiring construction draws, so cost and timing depend on the program a file lands in. Points, interest rate, rehab draw turnaround, and third-party closing costs still have to be compared line by line, and they move deal to deal. Ask for all four in writing on the same term sheet.

Speed is where locally based operations can win: Kansas City–area lenders such as Ridge Street Capital and BridgeWell Capital advertise closings in roughly seven to ten days, so confirm those timelines directly if a tight contract date is your binding constraint.

Hard Money Loan Cost FAQs for Flippers

How much do hard money lenders charge in points and interest?

Pricing varies by lender and deal, but most flip financing lands in a predictable band. A 2026 rate outlook from Hard Money Home puts first-position loans at roughly 9.5%–13% with 1.5–3 points, and notes that experienced repeat borrowers sometimes qualify for one-point or zero-point structures. Broader industry figures run wider: Nav’s explainer on hard money loans cites 7%–15% interest and 2%–10% in points. Expect additional line items too — underwriting or processing fees, appraisal, title, and draw inspection charges on the rehab side.

What do typical points and interest rates actually cost on a flip?

Both numbers matter, and they pull in opposite directions. Points are charged upfront on the loan amount, so on a $300,000 loan, two points is $6,000 due at closing regardless of how fast you exit. Interest accrues monthly, so a shorter hold shrinks it. That means a lower rate with three points can cost more than a higher rate with one point on a 90-day flip, and less on a 12-month project. Run both scenarios against your realistic timeline before comparing offers.

For pricing on a specific project, request a quote from Aspire Mortgage and bring your purchase price, rehab budget, and exit timeline.