Best fix and flip lenders: how to evaluate and compare them in 2026
Written by Jay Beach, SVP, Investor Portfolio Lending · Reviewed by the Mortava lending team · Updated
A search for the best fix and flip lenders turns up dozens of near-identical "up to 90% LTC" landing pages, which makes it hard to see what actually separates a strong renovation lender from one that will slow your project down. This guide gives you a concrete evaluation methodology — the same seven criteria experienced flippers use — so you can compare quotes on substance instead of a single headline leverage number. Full disclosure: Mortava is a direct fix & flip lender, so treat this page as editorial guidance and apply the scorecard to every lender you consider, including us.
The best fix and flip lenders combine high leverage (often up to 90-95% LTC for experienced borrowers), 100% of the rehab budget funded through fast, reimbursement-based draws, a clearly stated after-repair-value (ARV) cap, itemized points and fees, closings inside seven to fifteen days, and program room for both first-time and repeat flippers. Direct portfolio lenders usually win on draw speed and consistency; hard-money crossovers add flexibility on unusual scopes of work. Always compare quotes at the same purchase price, rehab budget, and ARV before judging the leverage number alone.
- Judge every fix and flip lender on seven criteria: maximum LTC, rehab-funding percentage, draw turnaround, ARV cap, fee transparency, closing speed, and property/experience coverage.
- A high headline LTC number means little if the lender only funds part of the rehab budget or takes weeks to reimburse draws — ask about both numbers together.
- Draws are reimbursement-based at nearly every lender; the real differentiator is turnaround time, which ranges from about 24 hours to multiple weeks depending on the lender.
- Fix and flip loans are short-term and interest-only, so total cost is driven more by points, fees, and holding period than by the headline rate alone.
- Mortava is a direct fix & flip lender, and this guide is editorial: the scorecard below applies to any lender you evaluate, including us.
What makes a great fix and flip lender
A great fix and flip lender delivers three things: enough leverage to keep your cash in more deals at once, a draw process that actually keeps pace with your renovation schedule, and cost transparency that survives from quote to closing table. Because fix and flip loans underwrite the deal — purchase price, rehab budget, and after-repair value — rather than your personal income, the lender's program design determines how many projects you can run at once and how much of your own capital stays tied up.
That shifts the evaluation away from questions that matter for a conventional mortgage and toward project-specific ones: How much of the purchase and the rehab will they actually fund? How fast do draws turn around once you submit documentation? Is the ARV cap disclosed up front, or does it surface at appraisal? Weak fix and flip lenders reveal themselves the same way every time — a headline LTC number that shrinks once fees and a lower ARV cap are applied, and draw requests that sit for weeks while a crew waits to get paid.
The 7-point fix and flip lender scorecard
Score every lender on the same seven criteria before comparing a single quote. Each is easy to verify with a few direct questions, and together they predict how a lender behaves once your project is under contract far better than a rate sheet does.
| Criterion | What good looks like | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum LTC | Up to 90-95% of loan-to-cost for experienced borrowers, clearly tiered by track record | Higher leverage means less of your own cash locked in a single deal |
| Rehab-funding percentage | 100% of the approved rehab budget funded, not just a partial percentage | Partial rehab funding forces you to bridge the gap out of pocket mid-project |
| Draw turnaround | Reimbursement within 24-48 hours of verified documentation | Slow draws stall your contractor and push your exit timeline out, which costs more in carrying costs than a slightly higher rate |
| ARV cap | Disclosed up front, not revealed for the first time after the appraisal comes back | A surprise ARV cap can shrink your approved loan amount mid-transaction |
| Points and fee transparency | An itemized quote — points, underwriting, appraisal, and any third-party pass-through costs — before you apply | Bundled or verbal quotes hide cost; itemization is the only way to compare lenders honestly |
| Closing speed | Seven to fifteen days typical, with a real, named track record | Flip and wholesale contracts often carry tight deadlines; a slow lender costs you deposits and deals |
| Property and experience coverage | Programs for both first-time and experienced flippers, across single-family, small multifamily, and ground-up scopes | A lender that grows with your track record saves you from re-shopping every deal size and property type |
The three types of fix and flip lenders
Every company offering fix and flip financing falls into one of three buckets — direct or portfolio lenders, hard-money specialists, and brokers or wholesale channels — and the bucket predicts a lot about draw speed, consistency, and program flexibility.
Direct and portfolio lenders fund with their own capital or committed credit lines and make their own draw and underwriting decisions in-house. That control typically means faster draw turnarounds and fewer surprise re-underwriting events mid-project. The tradeoff is that you see one program at a time, so it still pays to get a second quote.
Hard-money specialists built their entire platform around short-term rehab lending and often have the deepest bench for unusual scopes of work — heavy structural rehab, ground-up conversions, or distressed acquisitions. Ask how they price experience tiers and whether first-time flippers are eligible at all.
Brokers and wholesale channels shop your project across multiple flip lenders. That breadth helps for unusual deals — non-warrantable properties, out-of-state investors, larger rehab budgets — but it inserts a layer between you and the person approving your draws, and broker compensation is baked into your pricing.
How to compare fix and flip quotes apples-to-apples
A fix and flip quote is only comparable when the purchase price, rehab budget, and ARV all match, because lenders can make any leverage number look good by adjusting the levers you are not watching.
- Request every quote at the same purchase price, rehab budget, and target ARV — a quote capped at a lower percentage of ARV will always look worse on paper even at a higher LTC.
- Confirm the rehab-funding percentage in writing, not just the purchase-side LTC. A lender that funds 95% LTC but only 75% of rehab is not as strong as it first sounds.
- Ask each lender for their actual recent draw turnaround times, not a marketing claim — request three references if needed.
- Match the points and fee structure. Ask for a zero-point option from every lender so rate comparisons are apples-to-apples.
- Add up total cost over your expected hold: points plus fees plus interest for your planned rehab-to-sale timeline, since these are short-term interest-only loans where carrying costs compound fast.
- Confirm whether the quote used a soft credit pull and whether it is a live, priced term sheet or a non-binding estimate.
Questions that expose weak fix and flip lenders fast
A few direct questions will tell you more than an hour of website reading. Strong lenders answer these immediately; weak ones deflect or qualify the answer.
- Are you funding this loan directly, or brokering it to another lender? If brokered, who is the actual lender?
- What percentage of my rehab budget will you actually fund, and is it capped against the after-repair value?
- What is your average draw turnaround time from documentation submission to reimbursement?
- Is my ARV cap disclosed now, or determined after the appraisal comes back?
- Do you have a program for first-time flippers, or do I need a completed-flip track record to qualify?
- Can you itemize every fee — origination, underwriting, appraisal, closing, and any third-party or pass-through costs — before I apply?
- What were your last three closings' actual application-to-funding timelines?
- Can I close in my LLC, and what entity documents do you require?
Building your shortlist
The fastest path to a good decision is a shortlist of two or three lenders scored against the seven criteria above, quoted on identical purchase price, rehab budget, and ARV. Rather than publishing a ranked list here — rankings age badly and every project weights the criteria differently — we maintain head-to-head lender comparison pages that walk through how Mortava's programs stack up against other well-known fix and flip lenders on these exact criteria.
If you already have quotes in hand, the side-by-side pages for Kiavi, RCN Capital, New Silver, Lima One, Archwest Capital, and American Heritage Lending are a practical starting point. Whichever lenders make your shortlist, hold every one of them — including us — to the same scorecard.
Where Mortava fits
Mortava is a direct lender for business-purpose loans to real estate investors, lending in all 50 states. Our fix & flip loans go up to 95% of loan-to-cost plus 100% of the rehab budget funded, capped against the after-repair value, with 12-18 month interest-only terms up to $5M and a 620+ FICO minimum.
On the scorecard above: draws are reimbursement-based and turn around in about 24 hours once documentation is verified, term sheets are generated in about two hours, and we offer both a standard program and a Lite tier for cosmetic and light rehab scopes. Beyond single fix & flip projects, investors can bridge into a build with ground-up construction financing or refinance a completed flip into a 30-year DSCR rental loan.
Nothing here is a commitment to lend, and every file is subject to full review. But if you want a live data point for your comparison set, you can request terms and get an indicative term sheet in minutes.
Build an indicative term sheet in minutes — soft credit inquiry only, subject to underwriting review.
Frequently asked questions
Editorial content. Mortava is a direct lender for business-purpose loans to real estate investors; where Mortava programs appear in a comparison, that inclusion is disclosed. Programs, rates, and guidelines change without notice, nothing here is a commitment to lend, and any terms shown are subject to underwriting review.