Where we finance

Hard Money Loans in Ohio

Apex Capital Advisors arranges hard money and other business-purpose financing for Ohio investors, from Columbus doubles and Cleveland up-and-down houses to Cincinnati rowhouses and Toledo bungalows. We offer fix and flip, DSCR rental, bridge and new construction loans, with term sheets in 12 to 24 hours.

Discuss your deal All 36 states and Washington, D.C.

Fix & Flip
DSCR Rental
Bridge
New Construction

The lay of the land

Investing in Ohio

Ohio's investor markets are spread across several metros rather than one big city. Columbus sits in the middle of the state with state government, Ohio State University and a wide ring of newer suburbs. Cleveland and Akron anchor the northeast, with hospital systems, corporate headquarters and manufacturing. Cincinnati and Dayton share the southwest, from the Ohio River to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Toledo, in the northwest corner, is a port and auto-plant city on the Maumee River.

Ohio deals tend to involve older houses: wood-frame doubles, brick cottages and rowhouses, foursquares and bungalows, plus post-war ranches and Cape Cods farther out. Basements, old wiring and plumbing, and lead paint come with the territory. Freeze-and-thaw winters, lake-effect snow off Lake Erie and steep hillsides around Cincinnati all show up in the rehab budget. Typical plans are to flip an older house, hold single-family homes and doubles as rentals, or build in the subdivisions around Columbus and Cincinnati.

Loan programs

Loan Programs in Ohio

Four ways to finance an investment property in Ohio, each sized to the deal rather than a fixed product.

Short-term project capital

Fix and Flip Loans in Ohio

Ohio flips usually start with an older house that needs its systems replaced. A Columbus double, a Cleveland up-and-down or a Toledo bungalow may need a roof, a furnace, new wiring, basement waterproofing and lead-safe paint work. In Cincinnati, budget for tuckpointing on brick and check whether a hillside lot has shifted. Get contractor bids before you offer.

Our hard money fix and flip loans fund up to 92.50% of total cost and up to 100% of the rehab budget. The minimum FICO is 650, with lower scores considered case by case, and first-time investors are welcome.

Newbies are welcome
Up to 92.50% Loan to Cost (LTC)
Up to 100% of rehab budget

Fix and flip loan details

Long-term rental financing

DSCR Rental Loans in Ohio

Ohio rental demand follows hospitals, universities, state government and plants. Investors hold doubles near Ohio State, single-family homes on Cleveland's west side and in Toledo, and student housing near the University of Cincinnati, the University of Dayton and Kent State.

Our DSCR loans qualify on the property's cash flow, with no personal-income verification, loan amounts from $100K to $3M+, ratios as low as 0.75x considered, 30-year fixed and ARM options, and cash-out refinancing up to 80% LTV. Reaching the full 80% takes a stronger DSCR and credit score than the program minimums, so leverage on each file is set by its DSCR and credit. Long-term and short-term rentals are eligible. Estimate taxes without the seller's owner-occupancy reduction, and in Cleveland or Toledo, budget for lead-safe certification.

Qualified on the property's cash flow, not your personal income
No traditional employment or personal-income verification
Cash-out refinance LTV up to 80%

DSCR rental loan details

Interim financing

Bridge Loans in Ohio

A bridge loan fits Ohio deals where the timing is wrong for a bank: an auction or estate purchase that has to close quickly, a vacant Cleveland double that needs tenants before a DSCR refinance, a Dayton apartment building being repositioned, or a lot outside Columbus held while permits are approved. At a sheriff's sale, the sale is not final until the court confirms it.

Terms are set deal by deal rather than to a fixed product, and experienced and first-time sponsors are both considered. The loan is built around your exit.

Structured for transactions that cannot wait
Property in transition, lease-up or repositioning
Terms set deal by deal rather than to a fixed product

Bridge loan details

Ground-up construction

New Construction Loans in Ohio

New subdivisions in Ohio cluster around Columbus in Delaware, Union, Licking and Fairfield counties, north of Cincinnati in Butler and Warren counties, and around Springboro and Beavercreek near Dayton. Infill lots in older city neighborhoods are another path. Set footings below the frost line, plan around winter, and on a Cincinnati hillside get soils work done before you design. The owner records a notice of commencement before work starts.

Our new construction loans fund up to 100% of the construction budget, assess the lot and build budget together, and release capital in stages against construction progress.

Up to 100% of the construction budget
Land or lot cost and build budget assessed together
Capital released in stages against construction progress

New construction loan details

Program terms are general guidelines, not a quote or commitment. Every loan is subject to underwriting and approval and is for business purposes only.

Local markets

Where We Finance in Ohio

Apex offers loans statewide. These markets are a starting point, not a limit.

Columbus

Columbus is the state capital and home to Ohio State University, Nationwide, Huntington, OhioHealth and Nationwide Children's Hospital. Honda builds cars northwest of the city, and data centers have gone up around New Albany. Near downtown, German Village has brick cottages, Victorian Village and Italian Village have Victorian houses, and Olde Towne East has large older homes. The University District is a student rental area of older houses and doubles. Clintonville, Linden, the Hilltop and the South Side have bungalows and frame houses for flips and rentals. New subdivisions spread into Delaware, Union and Licking counties.

Cleveland

Cleveland's job base centers on Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth, Case Western Reserve University, Sherwin-Williams and KeyBank. The city is known for the Cleveland double, an up-and-down house with one unit over the other, found in Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit-Shoreway, Old Brooklyn and neighboring Lakewood. East side neighborhoods such as Slavic Village, Collinwood and Glenville have frame houses that often need full system work. Lake-effect snow falls hardest east of the city. Cleveland requires annual registration of non-owner-occupied homes, and some inner-ring suburbs, including Cleveland Heights, require a point-of-sale inspection before a sale.

Cincinnati

Cincinnati is headquarters to Procter & Gamble, Kroger and Fifth Third Bank, and GE Aerospace, the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital are major employers. Over-the-Rhine has Italianate brick rowhouses in a large historic district. Northside, Walnut Hills, Price Hill, Westwood and Madisonville have brick and frame houses for flips and rentals, and Clifton near the university draws student renters. The city is built on hills, and some hillsides are prone to slides, so a steep lot may need a geotechnical review. Newer subdivisions extend north into Butler and Warren counties.

Toledo

Toledo sits where the Maumee River meets Lake Erie and is known as the Glass City, home to Owens Corning, with O-I Glass in nearby Perrysburg. The Stellantis complex that builds the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator, a General Motors transmission plant, ProMedica, Mercy Health and the University of Toledo anchor the job base. The Old West End has large Victorian and Edwardian houses. The west side, East Toledo and Point Place have smaller frame houses and bungalows suited to flips and rentals, and low ground near the bay makes the flood map worth checking. Sylvania, Perrysburg and Maumee have newer housing.

Before you buy

What Investors Should Know About Ohio

Foreclosure goes through the courts

Ohio lenders foreclose by filing a lawsuit. If the lender wins, the court orders a public sale run by the sheriff or a court-approved private selling officer, who may hold it online. The sale is final only when the court confirms it. Until then, the owner can redeem by paying the judgment, costs and interest into court, which sets the sale aside.

Dower can cloud a title

Ohio still recognizes dower. The spouse of a married owner holds a dower interest in real estate the owner held during the marriage, even if the spouse is not on the deed. A deed or mortgage does not cut off that interest unless the spouse signs to release it. When buying from a married seller, have the title company confirm the spouse will sign.

Deposits and repair notices

An Ohio landlord must return the deposit, with an itemized written list of any deductions, within a short statutory window after the lease ends and the tenant moves out. Wrongful withholding can cost damages and attorney's fees if the tenant left a forwarding address in writing. Larger deposits held through longer tenancies earn interest. A tenant current on rent whose landlord does not fix a problem in time after written notice may pay rent to the court clerk, unless a small landlord opted out in the written lease.

Lead-safe rules in Cleveland and Toledo

Cleveland rental units built before the federal ban on lead-based house paint need a lead-safe certificate or an exemption, uploaded to the city's annual rental registration, and owners outside Cuyahoga County and its adjacent counties must name a local agent. Toledo requires smaller rental properties of the same age to hold a lead-safe certificate from the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department after a visual inspection and dust testing.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Laws and rates change; confirm the details with a licensed attorney or tax professional in Ohio.

Questions

Ohio Hard Money Loan FAQs

Not answered here? Call +1(551) 321-5995 or read the full FAQ.

Do you make hard money loans to first-time flippers in Ohio?

Yes. First-time investors are welcome. Our Ohio fix and flip loans fund up to 92.50% of total cost and up to 100% of the rehab budget. The minimum FICO is 650, with lower scores considered case by case. If your first flip is an older double or bungalow, get a bid covering the roof, mechanicals and any lead-safe work.

Will property taxes change if I buy an owner-occupied house to rent out?

They can. Ohio's owner-occupancy reduction applies only to a home the owner lives in as a principal residence, and county offices say rental properties are not eligible. It stays on the bill until the property transfers, so a seller's bill may show it. Estimate taxes without it before you run DSCR numbers.

How does eviction work for an Ohio rental?

Before filing, an Ohio landlord must deliver a written notice asking the tenant to leave, with warning language set by statute, by certified mail, in person or by leaving it at the home. The court case can be filed only after the notice period runs. Build that time into a DSCR plan.

How fast can an Ohio hard money loan close?

Term sheets go out within 12 to 24 hours, and qualified deals with complete documents can fund in as fast as 15 days. Order title early. A married seller's spouse may need to release dower, and unpaid taxes, contractor liens or a pending foreclosure can slow the closing.

Do you lend outside Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo?

Yes. Apex offers loans statewide, including Dayton, Akron, Canton, Youngstown, Springfield and Mansfield, the suburbs around each metro, and college towns such as Athens, Kent, Oxford and Bowling Green. Apex finances business-purpose real estate in 36 states and Washington, D.C., for investors rather than owner-occupants.

Beyond the state line

Nearby States We Serve

Investing on both sides of the border? The same programs and the same team cover the states around Ohio.

All 36 states and Washington, D.C.

Next step

Financing a Property in Ohio?

Send us the property, the plan and the timeline. We will tell you what is realistic and what we need to issue a term sheet.

Discuss your deal +1(551) 321-5995