Hard money lenders in Florida

The Florida market

Enormous flip and short-term-rental demand, heavy foreign-national and ITIN borrower activity (several lenders have dedicated programs), and active build-to-rent development in Central Florida. Leverage runs 5 points lower than Texas for equivalent borrowers at many lenders.

Licensing

Florida Statutes Chapter 494 is broad: many loans secured by residential property require a mortgage lender license even when the loan is for business purposes, and most institutional hard money lenders hold one. Verify a lender’s OFR license before closing.

Usury and interest-rate rules

Chapter 687 caps interest at 18% simple on loans of $500,000 or less and 25% above that; rates above 25% are criminal usury. Points and fees can count toward the rate, so lenders structure Florida loans conservatively.

Foreclosure and lender risk

Florida uses judicial foreclosure as its primary method, with a typical timeline of judicial — commonly 8 to 14 months, longer if contested. Judicial process means a lender must sue to recover collateral, which lengthens recovery and raises cost — lenders compensate with lower leverage (often 5 points lower) and higher rates than in non-judicial states.

What is different here

Judicial foreclosure and hurricane exposure (insurance costs and availability) make Florida lenders more selective on leverage. Expect windstorm and flood insurance to be underwritten in detail, and condo projects to face extra scrutiny after post-2021 reserve laws.

Lenders active in Florida

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