The Quick Read: Usually, yes. Hard money and bridge lending is asset-based, so where the borrower lives rarely decides the file; the property, the plan, the borrower’s experience, and the exit decide it. Lendmire is a broker that arranges these loans through select lenders in its wholesale network across 41 markets, including Washington, D.C.
- Home state matters less than the property’s state, and a handful of states fall outside the footprint.
- “Large” is lender- and deal-specific. Loan amounts on this program run up to $5,000,000, with larger requests by exception.
- Leverage tiers depend on documented completed projects, and the top tier is reserved for experienced investors.
- Terms run 6-18 months, interest-only, with no prepayment penalty, so the exit plan is the real underwriting question.
- Everything varies by lender, property, and experience, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Picture an investor in one state eyeing a rental in another. The worry is usually the same: will anyone lend on a property I can’t drive to? Mostly, yes. The harder questions come after that, and they’re about size, scrutiny, and exit.
What this loan actually costs to carry.
Hard money is sized against the project and priced by time. Enter the deal and see how much the program will lend, the cash required at closing, the carry while you hold it, and what is left at the exit.
Leverage tiers on the current program: 85% with fewer than 2, 90% with 2 or more, 93% with 5 or more completed projects — every tier capped at 75% of after-repair value. Loan amounts up to $5,000,000, larger by exception; terms of 6 to 18 months, interest-only, no prepayment penalty. The rehab portion funds in draws against completed work, not at closing.
Program parameters shown update from Lendmire’s centralized guideline source. Rate, points, and months are editable assumptions, not quoted terms.
Cost cap sets the loan · positive spread
Illustrative estimate only — not a quote, Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Rate, points, and months are editable assumptions. Hard money is business-purpose financing for real estate investors, not a consumer mortgage. Leverage on the current program tops out at 93% of project cost for investors with a documented track record, capped at 75% of after-repair value, with rehab funding up to 100% of the documented budget released in draws; actual terms vary by lender, borrower experience, property, and exit. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender.
Why Distance Matters Less Than You Think
Asset-based lending looks at collateral first. The lender wants to know what the property is worth, what you’re putting in, and how the loan gets repaid. Your home address sits well down that list.
Practitioners in investor communities say the same thing: most hard money companies serve out-of-state buyers because nearly everything can be done remotely. Individual private lenders decide case by case, so results vary more with small lenders than with institutional ones.
Here’s the catch. Distance doesn’t matter to the lender, but it can matter to you. Local banks often won’t take equity in your home-state properties as collateral for a deal elsewhere. That’s one reason investors reach for bridge money in the first place.
Footprint is the other limit: the program is not available in Louisiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, or South Dakota, or in Baltimore, Chicago, or Detroit. If your target is in one of those, a different strategy is needed.
What Does “Large” Actually Mean Here?
No authoritative source sets a universal maximum bridge loan. Size is a lender decision tied to the deal. On this program, loan amounts run up to $5,000,000, with larger requests handled by exception and smaller balances varying by lender.
Large requests get more scrutiny, and an out-of-state first-timer gets the most. A lender sizing a big rehab will weigh the deal heavily, but it also wants to see that someone has done this before. Experience matters less on a small, simple purchase. It matters more as the dollars grow.
Leverage is tiered by documented completed projects. These are typical network guidelines, and they vary by lender, property, and experience:
| Project type | Typical leverage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fix-and-flip, 5+ projects | 93% of project cost | Capped at 75% of after-repair value |
| Fix-and-flip, 2+ projects | 90% of project cost | Capped at 75% of after-repair value |
| Fix-and-flip, under 2 projects | 85% of project cost | Capped at 75% of after-repair value |
| Bridge purchase, no rehab | Up to 80% of purchase price | Experience still reviewed |
| Cash-out or rate/term refinance | Up to 65% of value | Not a purchase tier |
Up to 100% of the rehab budget can fund in draws against completed work. That is a rehab-budget figure, not a purchase loan-to-value. There is no true 100% purchase program. The top leverage tier goes to experienced investors, so a newer out-of-state borrower should plan on the lower tiers and more cash in the deal.
How Lenders Underwrite a Large Out-of-State Loan
Underwriting runs on four pillars. Each one reads a little differently when the borrower is far away.
| What the lender reviews | What it means at a distance |
|---|---|
| The property | Value, condition, and market are checked independently of you |
| The borrower | Experience, liquidity, and a minimum 620 credit score |
| The plan | Scope of work, budget, and timeline carry extra weight |
| The exit | Refinance or sale must repay the balance at maturity |
Credit still counts. The program wants a 620 minimum, with additional conditions below 660, and first-time investors qualify at the lower leverage tiers. Credit and income matter less than on a bank loan, but they don’t disappear. Experience, cash in the deal, and the deal itself carry the file.
Collateral is non-owner-occupied residential, 1-4 units, with ground-up construction to 10 units. Commercial, industrial, land, hospitality, and owner-occupied property are not on the sheet. A big out-of-state apartment building is a different product entirely.
Lenders also commonly ask for a track record, a personal financial statement, a scope of work and budget, LLC documents, and sometimes bank statements. Each lender adds its own overlays, so the document list shifts from one to the next.
How a Remote Closing Works
Title work, signing, insurance, and draws can generally be handled remotely. The steps look like this:
1. Choose the lender by the property’s state. Confirm it lends there and holds any license the state requires. Requirements vary by state, and there is no single national rule.
2. Submit the package. That means the contract, scope, budget, entity documents, and your experience summary.
3. Let the property be valued independently. The lender orders its own valuation, so you aren’t relying on a seller’s numbers.
4. Sign remotely. E-signature and remote notarization are common.
5. Protect the wire. Verify wire instructions by phone using a number you trust, never one from an email. Wire fraud is the one risk remote closings add.
6. Fund and draw. Rehab money releases in draws as work is completed and inspected.
For a deeper look at the draw step, see Lendmire’s piece How to Vet a Hard Money Lender’s Draw Process From Out of State.
Business Purpose Is What Makes This Work
Hard money for investors is business-purpose lending. Federal rules treat credit extended primarily for a business or commercial purpose as exempt from Regulation Z, as laid out in 12 CFR 1026.3 at the CFPB. Loans to entities rather than natural persons are exempt too, per Cornell’s Legal Information Institute. That is why the property and the exit drive underwriting instead of personal income.
Purpose controls, not property type. Buying a rental you plan to live in can change the analysis. This program is for non-owner-occupied investment property only. Other consumer-protection laws can still apply to business-purpose loans, so a clean business-purpose file matters.
What Changes When You Can’t Be on Site
Distance raises execution risk more than approval risk. Three things deserve attention before you commit.
Your local team. A reliable contractor and property manager are your eyes. Without them, draws stall and budgets drift. Vet both before closing, not after.
Your clock. Bridge money is short-term by design, and the carry keeps running. Slow leasing or slow rehab in an unfamiliar market eats into the term fast.
Your lender’s draw process. Know how inspections work and who orders them. Hold-ups there are the most common remote headache.
Plan the Exit First
Terms on this program run 6-18 months, interest-only, with no prepayment penalty. There are no multi-year options. Investors who need longer runway refinance into long-term rental financing.
For buy-and-hold investors, the usual exit is a DSCR refinance. Many investors refinance out of hard money into long-term DSCR investor loans once the property is stabilized, and Lendmire brokers that path. Test the math before you take the bridge, because the exit has four common failure points:
- Rents too low for the intended loan amount.
- An appraisal that comes in short.
- Seasoning requirements not yet met.
- The bridge maturing before lease-up finishes.
DSCR compares rent to the full monthly obligation, meaning principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any HOA dues. Across the wholesale network, 1.00 is where select programs start, and stronger ratios open better pricing and leverage. A separate select-lender path takes coverage below 1.00, with leverage and terms adjusted. Clearing 1.00 is not the same as positive cash flow, since repairs, vacancy, management, and capex sit outside the calculation. Qualification stays subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, and property review.
Most DSCR purchase files land at 75%-80% LTV on an investment property, and a stabilized cash-out refinance tops out around 75% LTV. Lender overlays change these tiers, so run the numbers early. The complete DSCR loans guide covers the full program mechanics. These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
When a Bridge Loan Is the Wrong Tool
Be honest with yourself here. Bridge money costs more than permanent debt, and the clock is real.
| Your situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Move-in-ready rental, hold long term | DSCR purchase loan |
| Stabilized rental, pulling equity | DSCR cash-out refinance |
| Heavy rehab, experienced operator | Hard money fix-and-flip |
| First deal, large rehab, far away | Smaller project or lower leverage first |
A DSCR purchase loan usually asks for a real down payment, while some hard money programs advertise little or none. That gap is why some investors assume bridge is “cheaper” up front. Compare total cost through the exit, not just day-one cash.
For a first-timer eyeing a large remote rehab, the stronger play might be a smaller first project. Experience is the thing lenders pay for, and a modest local-market win builds the track record that unlocks higher leverage tiers. Investors chasing speed to a big deal could argue the other way.
Key Terms Defined
Bridge loan: A short-term loan that carries a property until a refinance or sale repays it.
Hard money: Asset-based lending where the property and plan matter more than personal income.
Loan-to-cost: The loan divided by total project cost, purchase plus rehab.
After-repair value (ARV): The estimated worth of the property once the work is done.
Draw: A release of rehab funds after completed work is inspected.
Seasoning: The time you’ve held a property before a lender will refinance on its current value.
How to Vet a Lender for an Out-of-State Deal
Start with the question that decides the most: will this lender finance a borrower in my state, on a property in that state, through my entity? Then check:
- Does it hold any license required where the property sits?
- How does it handle valuation and draw inspections remotely?
- What experience does it require for the leverage tier you want?
- Is there a clean refinance path, and are extensions available if lease-up runs late?
Lenders on the program lend to LLCs, subject to lender program eligibility, so form your entity before you apply and keep vesting consistent through closing.
A broker’s value is breadth. Lendmire sees how different lenders in its network set experience requirements, draw handling, and overlays, which makes it easier to match a file to the right fit instead of guessing. Investors can reach the team at 828-256-2183 or through the quote request page.
In files like these, the declines that surprise people usually trace to a mismatch, not a weak property: a large request paired with thin experience, or an exit built on rent assumptions that never got tested. Running the DSCR takeout math before applying prevents most of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lender in my home state?
No. The state that matters is where the property sits. Confirm the lender lends there and holds any license that state requires. Your home state rarely enters the decision.
Can I borrow through an LLC?
Usually, and many lenders prefer it. Entity documents are a standard request, and loans to non-natural persons sit outside Regulation Z. Eligibility depends on program guidelines, so confirm vesting before you apply.
What credit score do I need?
The program sets a 620 minimum, with additional conditions below 660. First-time investors qualify at the lower leverage tiers. Underwriting stays asset-based, so the property, plan, and exit still decide the file.
Can I get 100% financing on a purchase?
No. There is no true 100% purchase program. Up to 100% of the rehab budget can fund in draws against completed work, and top-tier fix-and-flip files reach 93% of project cost, always capped at 75% of after-repair value.
Can I buy an out-of-state commercial building with this?
No. Collateral is non-owner-occupied residential of 1-4 units, with ground-up construction to 10 units. Commercial, industrial, land, and hospitality property are not offered.
If you are buying, rehabbing or refinancing an investment property on a short timeline and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare hard money options based on the project, the exit plan, leverage, and your goals.
Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
Distance has stopped being the obstacle for remote investors. The real test is whether the exit holds up in a market you only see through other people’s eyes.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage brokerage built around DSCR investor lending, with programs available in 41 markets, including Washington, D.C. DSCR lenders commonly evaluate rental-income coverage instead of personal income paperwork — a practical fit for LLC-owned and multi-property investors. Terms vary by lender, property, leverage, and program. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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Informational only. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
References
1. CFPB: Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.3, Exempt transactions
2. Cornell Legal Information Institute: 12 CFR 1026.3
This article is part of Lendmire’s hard money loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Seasoning Rules for a Two-Step DSCR Cash-Out After Hard Money · Syndication vs Joint Venture on a DSCR Loan With Passive Investors · Hard Money Draw Process Checks for a Remote Out-of-State Investor
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Important disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage brokerage. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or financial advisor. All loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not constitute a commitment to lend. Rates, terms, and program guidelines are subject to change without notice and vary by borrower profile, property type, and state. Information in this article is general in nature and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.