Hard Money Lenders in Ohio

The best Ohio hard money lender is the one that funds your specific deal quickly and lends its own capital, with no middleman delaying the close. Tidal Loans is a direct private lender — we underwrite the property rather than your income, and because we fund from our own balance sheet, we can move at the pace Ohio deals demand. We finance fix-and-flips, rehab loans, rentals, DSCR loans, new construction, and commercial deals across Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and statewide, which is why investors come back deal after deal.

We typically fund up to 90% of the purchase price and 100% of the rehab cost in Ohio. On exception, we can fund up to 100% of the purchase and rehab for strong borrowers when the combined amount stays within 75% of the after-repair value. We also offer CLTV structures, available upon exception, on exception where a seller or second-position lender carries the remaining equity — in those cases the only cash you bring to closing is the closing costs, which is what makes Ohio’s lower-priced rehab deals so accessible.

There is no minimum credit score. We do pull a hard credit report — any legitimate lender will — but a low score does not disqualify your deal. Instead, your score affects your terms: stronger credit earns better rates and higher leverage, while a lower score is offset with a higher rate, lower LTV, or more reserves. The property carries most of the underwriting weight, which is why investors with credit challenges or multiple existing loans still get funded.

No. We have no minimum DSCR ratio. We fund properties below 1.0 and even below 0.75 when the rest of the file supports it. A lower ratio means a lower LTV and higher rate to balance the risk, but it does not automatically disqualify the deal the way it does with most lenders. This flexibility is one of the main reasons Ohio buy-and-hold investors bring their DSCR deals to us.

Yes. We provide commercial hard money loans across Ohio — up to 65% LTV on commercial bridge and rehab loans, and 70% LTV on long-term commercial financing at a 30-year amortization. When a deal is time-sensitive or the borrower doesn’t fit conventional commercial guidelines, our commercial hard money is often the financing that closes on schedule, including mixed-use properties.

We lend statewide. Cleveland is our highest-volume Ohio market, but we actively fund hard money loans in Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron, Toledo, and the surrounding submarkets. Each market has its own dynamics — Cleveland and Cincinnati for cash flow, Columbus for growth and appreciation — and we structure each loan to fit the property and strategy in that specific market.

No. We have no minimum loan amount for Ohio hard money loans. Whether you’re financing a $60,000 Cleveland rehab or a multi-million-dollar commercial deal, we size the loan to the property and the plan.

Yes, and most of our investors do. Because these are business-purpose investment loans rather than consumer mortgages, closing in an LLC is fully supported and often recommended for liability protection. A loan closed in your LLC’s name also generally won’t appear on your personal credit report, which helps preserve your personal borrowing capacity.

We finance all investment property types across Ohio: single-family rehabs, 2–4 unit residential, five-plus-unit multifamily and apartment buildings, mixed-use properties, and commercial properties including self-storage, warehouses, industrial, retail, and office. The property must be investment-only — we do not lend on owner-occupied or primary residences.

We fund the buy and the rehab with short-term hard money. You renovate, place a tenant, and once there is a signed lease we refinance you into a long-term DSCR loan and pull your capital back out through a cash-out refinance of up to 80% of the appraised value. You recycle that capital into the next deal and repeat. In affordable markets like Cleveland and Cincinnati, this is how investors build a portfolio without running out of cash.

No. First-time investors are welcome. We underwrite the deal — the property’s value, the rehab scope, and your plan — not your resume. If you are new to investing, we walk you through each step of the process so you understand how the deal works before you commit.