Hard Money Loan Requirements in Florida

25 August 2026 · SFR Capital

The list of things a private lender needs is much shorter than the list a bank needs, and the difference is not leniency. It is that the two are underwriting different things. A bank underwrites you. A private lender underwrites the property, and then checks that the person behind it has no history that should stop the deal.

What SFR actually asks for

1. The property address. Everything else follows from it.
2. Purchase price, contract status and closing date if you are buying. If you already own it, when you bought it and what you paid.
3. Estimated after-repair value if there is meaningful renovation.
4. Sponsor information and experience. Who is behind the borrowing entity and what they have done before.
5. The business plan. Two lines is often enough: what you intend to do with the property and how the loan gets repaid.

That is the whole list. No credit report, no tax returns, no bank statements, no outside appraisal.

Why the short list is not a shortcut

Two things get underwritten and both are done in-house. The property is valued using multiple automated valuation models reconciled against public-record comparable sales. The sponsor is checked against criminal and civil public records. Neither requires a document from you, which is precisely why neither creates a document chase.

What is genuinely required

These are structural and not negotiable: Florida non-owner-occupied residential collateral, a first-lien position, an entity borrower, and full entity and personal guaranties. A deal that cannot meet those four is not a pricing conversation, it is a different lender.

The part investors get wrong

The most common delay is not underwriting. It is title. A property with an unresolved lien, a probate issue or a boundary problem will sit while that is cleared, and no lender can shorten it. If you want a fast closing, start the title work the day you go under contract.

Why the list is short, in detail

A bank is lending against your ability to repay from income. That makes your income the subject of the underwriting, which is why it wants two years of tax returns, W-2s or K-1s, bank statements, a debt-to-income calculation and a credit report. Every one of those documents exists to answer one question: can this person service this debt from earnings?

A private lender secured by investment property is answering a different question: if this loan is not repaid, does the collateral cover it? That question is answered by valuing the property and confirming the borrower is who they say they are. Your tax return does not help answer it, so it is not requested.

This is not a lower standard. It is a standard aimed at the actual risk. A borrower with excellent income and a property worth far less than the loan is a worse risk than a borrower with complicated income and 40% equity — and the bank process ranks them the other way around.

What "sponsor information and experience" actually means

Not a resume. The lender wants to know who stands behind the borrowing entity, and whether their public record contains anything relevant. Experience matters in that a first-time flipper with an ambitious rehab budget gets more scrutiny on the budget, not on their character. If you have done ten of these, say so; if this is your first, say that too. Both are financeable. Being vague about it is what causes questions.

The four structural requirements

These are not preferences and no rate makes them negotiable:

• Florida non-owner-occupied residential collateral. Not your home, not raw land, not commercial. 1–4 unit residential, condos and small portfolios.
• First lien position. Any existing mortgage is paid off at closing from proceeds.
• An entity borrower. An LLC, because these are business-purpose loans and that distinction is regulatory rather than stylistic.
• Full entity and personal guaranties. You borrow through the entity and still stand behind it.

What speeds an application up

Three things, none of which are documents:

1. An address that is exactly right. Unit numbers, the correct municipality. A property that cannot be matched to public records confidently becomes a manual lookup.
2. A rehab number you can defend. Not the lowest plausible figure — the one you actually expect. See the article on rehab budgets.
3. Title ordered already. The single biggest lever on the timeline, and it is entirely in your control.

What to expect back, and when

A preliminary answer on whether the deal works, and roughly at what size, usually the same day the information arrives. That answer is not a commitment; it becomes one once valuation and the sponsor review are complete. From there the timeline belongs to title.

Common misconceptions

"No credit check means bad credit is fine." Credit is not pulled, so it is neither a help nor a hindrance. What is checked is criminal and civil public record, and that is a different thing — a judgment or a fraud matter is relevant in a way a missed card payment in 2019 is not.

"No documents means no diligence." The diligence moved, it did not disappear. Valuation and public-record review both happen; they simply do not require anything from you, which is why they run in parallel with title instead of waiting on your accountant.

Talk to SFR Capital about your next Florida investment property →

SFR Capital LLC (SFR) is a private lender, license exempt under Fla. Stat. § 494.00115. SFR only makes business purpose mortgage loans on non-owner occupied Florida investment property. Nothing here is an offer or commitment to lend. All loans are subject to SFR approval of the sponsor, property collateral, title and documentation.