Posts by Andrew J. Liersch III

By Andrew J. Liersch III — Founder & CIO, Slingshot Investments. 10+ years in private lending, $500M+ funded. Former Wells Fargo Private Mortgage Banking, Bear Stearns, and Deloitte Consulting. Short answer: A fix-and-flip loan in 2026 generally costs about 9–12% interest (interest-only) plus roughly 1.5–3 points at closing, with some additional fees for appraisal, per-draw…

Short answer: A private money loan on a fix-and-flip can close in roughly 8–10 days for a clean file — and in a pinch, faster. That’s a fraction of the 30–45 days a conventional loan typically takes, because private lenders underwrite the property and the exit instead of spending weeks verifying income and debt. The…

Short answer: A draw schedule is the agreed plan for how a lender releases the renovation portion of a fix-and-flip loan – in stages, as work is completed, rather than all at once. You complete a phase of work, request a draw, an inspector verifies the work is done, and the lender reimburses you for…

Short answer: ARV (after-repair value) is what a property will sell for once your renovation is complete. You estimate it the way an appraiser does: pull recent sales of comparable, fully renovated homes in the immediate area – ideally within the last 3-6 months, within about a mile, similar in size (livable sq ft and…

Short answer: “Hard money” and “private money” are often used interchangeably — both are short-term, asset-based loans secured by real estate and underwritten on the property and exit plan rather than your credit score. The practical difference is the source and the flexibility. Hard money usually comes from a fund or company lending against a…

Short answer: A private money lender underwrites a fix-and-flip loan around two things — the property and the exit plan — not your credit score or W-2 income. The lender estimates the home’s After-Repair Value (ARV), caps the loan at roughly 65–75% of that ARV (or a percentage of total project cost, whichever is lower),…