Fix and Flip Loans in Ohio
AAPL Member · Direct Lender Since 2016 · NMLS #1979189
Ohio is one of the best fix-and-flip markets in the country, and Cleveland in particular is a flipper’s dream — affordable entry prices, a deep supply of older homes, and strong buyer demand. Add Columbus, Cincinnati, and the rest of the state, and there’s no shortage of properties to buy, renovate, and resell. The hard part is funding them fast enough to win. Fix and flip loans in Ohio from Tidal Loans solve that: short-term, asset-based financing that funds the purchase and the rehab based on the property’s after-repair value, not your tax returns. We’ve financed Ohio flippers as a direct lender since 2016, we lend our own capital, and we offer up to 100% financing on qualifying Ohio deals.
A fix and flip loan is a form of hard money — the property is the collateral, and we underwrite the deal rather than your personal finances. Instead of scrutinizing your credit score, we focus on what the property will be worth after repairs. That asset-based approach is what lets us move in days instead of weeks, which is exactly what Ohio’s fast-moving rehab markets demand.
Building from the ground up instead of renovating? See our Ohio ground-up construction loans.
100% Fix and Flip Financing in Ohio
The question we hear most from Ohio flippers is whether we offer 100% financing, and on qualifying deals, we do. We can fund 100% of the purchase and 100% of the rehab as long as the combined amount stays within our after-repair-value limits — typically around 70% of ARV. When a deal fits that math, the only money you bring to closing is the closing costs, effectively a no-money-down flip. For deals above that threshold, our 100% CLTV structures let a seller or second-position lender carry the remaining equity. Ohio’s affordable price points make these structures especially powerful here. We walk through the full ARV math and a worked deal example on our fix and flip hub, and you can model any Ohio deal with our fix and flip deal calculator.
To be clear on credit: we’re a property-first lender. We do review credit, so be cautious of anyone promising a literal “no credit check” loan, but a credit blemish that would sink a bank application usually won’t stop an Ohio fix and flip deal with us.
Fix and Flip Lending Across Ohio's Major Markets
Every Ohio market flips a little differently, and we fund deals across all of them.
Cleveland
Cleveland is the heart of Ohio’s flip market and one of our busiest markets anywhere. Low acquisition costs and strong rental demand make it a magnet for fix-and-flip and BRRRR investors, and distressed inventory here moves fast. Our Cleveland fix and flip loans and rehab loans fund the purchase and renovation so you can take a tired property, bring it back to life, and either flip it or refinance into a long-term hold.
Columbus
Columbus brings steady population growth, a major university, and a more appreciation-driven dynamic. Our Columbus fix and flip financing funds both flips and new-construction-adjacent renovations across a growing metro where good deals attract competition.
Cincinnati
Cincinnati pairs affordability with a stable, diversified economy, making it a reliable flip market. Our Cincinnati fix and flip loans help investors capture and renovate deals across the metro.
We also fund flips in Dayton, Akron, Toledo, and the surrounding submarkets statewide.
An Ohio Fix and Flip We Funded: A Bedford Case Study
Bedford sits just southeast of Cleveland in Cuyahoga County — an older, affordable inner-ring suburb where solid mid-century housing stock trades well below the national median and a well-renovated home still moves. It’s exactly the kind of submarket where an investor who knows the streets can find margin that a spreadsheet from out of state would miss. This deal is a good example of how our Ohio fix and flip loans work in practice.
The borrower was a seasoned Bedford flipper — nine completed flips in this market over the previous three years — so he knew the comps cold. He picked this property up off-market, directly from a seller in distress, which in Bedford is often exactly where the best margins hide. Because we underwrite the property and the plan rather than a stack of tax returns, we were able to move on an off-market deal that wouldn’t have survived a conventional lender’s timeline.
Here’s how the deal penciled:
- Purchase price: $88,000
- Rehab budget: $40,000
- Total project cost: $128,000
- Our loan: 90% of purchase ($79,200) + 100% of rehab ($40,000) = $119,200
- Borrower cash to close: ~$8,800 toward the purchase (the 10% down), plus closing costs
- Projected after-repair value at closing: $187,000
- Actual sale price: $215,000
At funding, the loan sat at roughly 64% of the projected $187,000 ARV — comfortably inside our leverage limits, which is what let us finance 90% of the purchase and 100% of the rehab. On this file the borrower chose to bring 10% down on the acquisition; we covered the rest of the purchase and the entire rehab budget through staged draws as the work was completed.
The renovation came in on budget, and Bedford’s buyer demand did the rest: the finished home sold for $215,000 — about $28,000 above the ARV we’d underwritten. That put the gross spread over total project cost near $87,000. That figure is before financing costs, closing costs on both ends, holding, and sale commissions, which every flipper needs to net out before calling anything profit — but even after those, it was a strong result. It’s a clean illustration of why experienced Ohio investors bring their off-market deals to a direct lender who can actually close on them.
From Flip to Hold: the BRRRR Strategy in Ohio
Ohio’s cash-flow markets are tailor-made for the BRRRR method — buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. We fund the purchase and rehab, you place a tenant, and instead of selling you refinance into a long-term Ohio DSCR loan that qualifies on the rent, then pull your capital back out through a cash-out refinance. You recycle that capital into the next deal and do it again. In affordable markets like Cleveland and Cincinnati, this is how investors build a portfolio without running out of cash. If your project needs to bridge a timing gap before permanent financing, our Ohio bridge loans cover that too.
Ohio Fix and Flip Loan Parameters
Loan Details
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, on qualifying deals. We can fund 100% of the purchase and 100% of the rehab as long as the combined amount stays within our after-repair-value limits. When a deal fits that math, the only cash you bring to closing is the closing costs. For deals above that threshold, our 100% CLTV structures let a seller or second lender carry the remaining equity — and Ohio’s lower price points make these structures especially accessible.
ARV is the after-repair value — what the property will be worth once your renovation is complete, backed by comparable sales and an appraisal. We size your loan against it, typically keeping your total purchase-plus-rehab within about 70% of ARV. The stronger the spread between your total cost and the ARV, the more leverage we can offer, up to 100% financing on qualifying Ohio deals.
There’s no hard cutoff, because the property carries most of the underwriting weight. We do review credit, and a stronger score improves your terms, but a blemish that would stop an Ohio bank often won’t stop a fix and flip deal with us. We focus on the deal’s margin and your plan, which is why investors with credit challenges still get funded.
Tidal Loans closes fast and can close in days when the deal requires it. Because we underwrite the property rather than your income, there’s far less paperwork than a conventional loan — no tax returns to dig up and no slow loan committee. In a fast rehab market like Cleveland, that speed is frequently what wins the deal over a buyer waiting on bank financing.
Yes. Ohio’s strong cash-flow markets make this especially attractive. Many investors buy and renovate with a fix and flip loan, then keep the property as a rental by refinancing into a DSCR loan that qualifies on the rent. That’s the BRRRR strategy, and it’s one of the most common reasons investors choose Ohio.
We lend statewide. Cleveland is our highest-volume Ohio market, but we actively fund fix and flip loans in Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron, Toledo, and the surrounding areas. Each market has its own ARVs and renovation costs, and we structure each loan to fit the property and the local market.
No. We fund first-time flippers in Ohio, because the property and the plan carry most of the underwriting weight, not your résumé. Experience does help — a strong track record can improve your terms and unlock the highest leverage on qualifying deals — but a solid deal with a realistic budget gets a fair look whether it’s your first flip or your twentieth. We’ll walk a newer investor through the numbers before they commit.
Yes — off-market and distressed deals are some of the most common files we fund in Ohio. Because we’re a direct lender underwriting the property rather than your tax returns, we can move fast and close in days when the deal requires it, which is often what it takes to lock up a distressed seller before another investor does. If you’ve found a Bedford, Cleveland, or Columbus property off-market, that speed and certainty are exactly what we’re built for.
There’s no minimum loan amount, and we fund Ohio fix and flip projects up to $5,000,000. Ohio’s affordable price points mean most flips here fall well under that ceiling, but if you’re taking on a larger rehab or a bigger property, we have the capital to fund it. We size every loan to the specific deal — the purchase, the rehab budget, and the after-repair value.
Rehab funds are released in draws as the work gets done, not handed over all at once. You complete a stage of the renovation, request a draw, and we release those funds — typically after a quick inspection confirms the work. This protects you and us, and it keeps the project on track. We front the purchase at closing and fund the rehab through this draw schedule as your project moves forward.
The upside is yours. Your loan amount is set at closing based on the purchase, the rehab budget, and the projected after-repair value — it doesn’t change if the finished home sells for more. In our Bedford case study above, the property was underwritten to a $187,000 ARV and sold for $215,000, and that extra spread went to the investor, not the lender. Accurate ARV underwriting protects your leverage going in; a strong sale on the back end is your reward for executing well.
Ready to fund your Ohio deal?
Get a fast quote from a direct lender — or call and walk it through with us.