Where we finance

Hard Money Loans in Tennessee

Apex Capital Advisors arranges hard money and other business-purpose financing for Tennessee investors, from East Nashville bungalows to Memphis brick ranches. 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 Tennessee

Tennessee's Grand Divisions, East, Middle and West, are written into state law, and its investor markets follow them. West Tennessee centers on Memphis and the Mississippi River. Middle Tennessee runs from Nashville out to Franklin, Murfreesboro and Clarksville, next to Fort Campbell. East Tennessee climbs into the Appalachians: Knoxville, Chattanooga, the Tri-Cities of Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol, and the cabin towns of Sevier County beside the Great Smoky Mountains.

Nashville's job base includes HCA Healthcare, Vanderbilt, the music business and state government. Memphis has FedEx, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and a river, rail and trucking network. Knoxville has the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga has Volkswagen, and Nissan and General Motors build vehicles in Smyrna and Spring Hill. Investors flip and hold brick ranches, bungalows and Victorian houses. Storms and flash floods are part of the climate, and limestone under parts of Middle and East Tennessee brings sinkholes and shallow rock.

Loan programs

Loan Programs in Tennessee

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

Short-term project capital

Fix and Flip Loans in Tennessee

Tennessee flips run from East Nashville bungalows to brick ranches in Memphis and the Chattanooga suburbs. Older houses often need a roof, HVAC, wiring and crawlspace drainage at once, so price those before you bid. Tennessee requires a contractor license once a job's total cost reaches a threshold set by law, so check that your contractor's license covers the work.

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.

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 Tennessee

Tennessee rental demand comes from hospital and university jobs in Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville, freight work around Memphis, auto plants in Smyrna, Spring Hill and Chattanooga, and military families at Fort Campbell. Short-term rentals concentrate in Nashville, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. State law bars cities and counties from capping rents.

Our DSCR loans are qualified on the property's cash flow, not your personal earnings, with ratios as low as 0.75x and loan amounts from $100K to $3M+. Terms run 30-year, and cash-out refinancing goes 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.

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 Tennessee

A hard money bridge loan fits Tennessee deals where timing is the problem: a house bought at a trustee's sale or from an estate, with no time for a bank's schedule; a small Memphis apartment building that must be leased up before a DSCR refinance; or a Knoxville rental that needs work before permanent financing makes sense.

Terms are set deal by deal, and experienced and first-time sponsors are both considered. Plan the exit from the start, whether a sale or a DSCR refinance, and order title early on a foreclosure purchase.

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 Tennessee

New subdivisions spread along the interstates outside Nashville, through Rutherford, Williamson, Wilson, Sumner and Maury counties, and around Clarksville, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Inside Nashville, builders often replace an older house with the narrow infill homes locals call tall and skinnies. Shallow limestone can slow excavation, and West Tennessee builds for the nearby New Madrid Seismic Zone. Building to sell or rent takes a licensed contractor; the owner-builder exemption covers only buildings for the owner's own use.

Our new construction loans fund up to 100% of the construction budget 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 Tennessee

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

Nashville

Nashville and Davidson County share a consolidated metro government. East Nashville, including Lockeland Springs and Edgefield, has Victorian houses, bungalows and cottages, and Germantown north of downtown has restored brick Victorians. In Sylvan Park and The Nations on the west side, builders have replaced older cottages with new infill. Antioch, Madison and Donelson have ranches and split-levels suited to long-term rentals. Vanderbilt and its medical center, HCA Healthcare, Music Row and state government anchor the job base. Check Metro Nashville's short-term rental rules before you buy a property for that use.

Memphis

Memphis sits on bluffs above the Mississippi River. FedEx runs its global hub at the airport, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the University of Memphis, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and a rail and trucking network round out the job base. Cooper-Young and Central Gardens in Midtown have Craftsman bungalows and larger older houses. Whitehaven, Raleigh and Frayser have post-war brick ranches, and the city has long drawn out-of-state buyers of single-family rentals. Bartlett, Germantown and Collierville have newer subdivisions. Check flood maps near the Wolf River and Nonconnah Creek.

Knoxville

Knoxville is home to the University of Tennessee's flagship campus and the Tennessee Valley Authority, with Oak Ridge National Laboratory nearby and the Great Smoky Mountains to the southeast. Fort Sanders, next to campus, has Victorian houses converted to student apartments. Fourth and Gill and Old North Knoxville have restored Victorian and Craftsman houses, and South Knoxville has smaller older homes near the Urban Wilderness trails. West Knoxville and Farragut have newer subdivisions, and Covenant Health and UT Medical Center anchor health care jobs. Hilly lots, damp crawlspaces and old wiring are common rehab items.

Chattanooga

Chattanooga sits on the Tennessee River below Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain, at the Georgia line. Volkswagen builds vehicles at Enterprise South, and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Unum, Erlanger and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga anchor office, hospital and campus jobs. EPB, the city-owned utility, runs a fiber network across its service area. St. Elmo, Highland Park and North Chattanooga have Victorian houses and bungalows, and East Ridge, Red Bank and Hixson have ranches suited to rentals. Steep ridge lots need drainage work and retaining walls in the budget.

Before you buy

What Investors Should Know About Tennessee

Trustee's sale notices

A deed of trust with a power of sale lets a trustee sell without a court case. The sale is advertised in a county newspaper and posted online, and the trustee mails the borrower notice by the first ad. The notice lists any federal or state tax liens, which can leave the government a right to redeem.

Redemption rights can be waived

Tennessee lets a borrower redeem real estate sold for debt for a period after the sale. After a trustee's sale, that right applies unless the deed of trust expressly waives it, and waiving the "equity of redemption" is enough. Check the recorded deed of trust before you bid at a foreclosure sale.

Transfer and mortgage taxes

Tennessee charges a state tax on real estate transfers. The buyer pays, based on the price or the property's value, whichever is greater, and the county register cannot record the deed until the tax is paid. A separate tax, based on the debt secured, is due before a mortgage or deed of trust is recorded.

Security deposit rules

Tennessee's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not reach every county, but it covers Davidson, Shelby, Knox and Hamilton. Where it applies, landlords hold security deposits in a separate account at a regulated bank or lender. A landlord who skips both that account and the required move-out damage listing cannot keep any of the deposit.

Short-term rental protections

Tennessee's Short-Term Rental Unit Act generally lets an owner keep operating under the local rules in force when the rental began, even if they tighten later. The protection ends on a sale or transfer, a long stop in short-term rental use, or repeated violations. A buyer should expect today's rules to apply.

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

Questions

Tennessee 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 Tennessee?

Yes. First-time investors are welcome. Our fix and flip loans fund up to 92.50% of total cost and up to 100% of the rehab budget, with a minimum FICO of 650 and lower scores considered case by case. On an older Memphis or East Nashville house, budget for roof and wiring surprises.

What should I check before buying at a Tennessee foreclosure sale?

Read the sale notice and the recorded deed of trust. The notice must list any federal or state tax liens. Ask an attorney whether the deed of trust waived the right of redemption, order title early, and talk to us about a bridge loan before the sale.

Can I use a DSCR loan for a short-term rental in Tennessee?

Yes. Long-term and short-term rentals are eligible, and the loan is qualified on the property's cash flow. State law shields some existing short-term rentals from later local limits, but not after a sale. Check current rules in Nashville or the Smoky Mountain towns before you buy.

How fast can a Tennessee 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. Budget for the state transfer tax the buyer pays when the deed is recorded and the separate tax on the recorded loan.

Do you lend elsewhere in Tennessee?

Yes. Apex offers loans statewide, including Clarksville near Fort Campbell, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Jackson, Cookeville, Johnson City, Kingsport and the Sevier County cabin towns. Apex finances business-purpose real estate in 36 states and Washington, D.C. Send us the address and the plan for a term sheet.

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 Tennessee.

All 36 states and Washington, D.C.

Next step

Financing a Property in Tennessee?

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