Hard Money Loans in Texas — Fast Funding for Real Estate Investors

Texas runs on real estate. From Houston’s medical-corridor rehabs to San Antonio’s military-rental neighborhoods, from Dallas-Fort Worth value-add multifamily to Austin’s tear-downs near the urban core, the state’s investor activity ranks behind only Florida nationally. The deals move quickly, the timelines compress, and conventional bank financing rarely keeps up.

Hilton Financial Corporation has been writing hard money loans for real estate investors since 1980 and has funded over $1 billion in deals across the markets we serve, including Texas. We work directly with the principal — no committee, no underwriting backlog, no surprise stipulations the day before close. If the property and the exit make sense, we close.

What Hard Money Lending Looks Like in Texas

Texas’s investor profile is unusually broad. Single-family rehab volume is concentrated in Houston, San Antonio, and the Dallas metro. Build-to-rent has accelerated in the suburbs of every major metro. Mid-priced flips dominate San Antonio and Fort Worth, while higher-priced infill flips concentrate in Austin and inner-loop Houston. Bridge financing is common for 1031 exchange acquisitions, distressed multifamily repositioning, and short-fuse new-construction take-outs.

The thread connecting all of these is speed. A Texas seller who has multiple offers will favor the buyer with the firmest proof of funds and the shortest contingency window. Asset-based lending — where the loan is underwritten primarily against the property’s value and the investor’s exit strategy rather than against a personal income file — fills that need.

Loan Programs Available in Texas

We fund the same product set in Texas that we fund in our Arizona home market:

• Hard money purchase loans — acquisition financing for single-family, small multifamily, and mixed-use investment properties
• Fix-and-flip loans — purchase plus renovation, typically structured as initial advance plus rehab draws
• Bridge loans — short-term capital for time-sensitive acquisitions, repositioning, 1031 exchanges, and pre-development holds
• Construction loans — ground-up single-family and small commercial
• Private money refinances — exit financing from an expiring or unfavorable existing loan, including cash-out for the next acquisition
• Land & lot loans — entitled or partially entitled lots in active sub-markets

Texas Cities We Serve

Houston

The fourth-largest U.S. city and Hilton’s most active Texas market. Investor activity spans inner-loop tear-downs (Heights, Montrose, Garden Oaks), East-End and Third-Ward rehabs, Galleria-area multifamily, and suburban new-build in Cypress, Katy, and Spring. The Houston market is liquid enough that investors routinely close on short timelines, which makes hard money the default acquisition tool. See our Houston page for neighborhood-specific notes.

San Antonio

The state’s seventh-largest metro by some measures and one of the most under-financed. The military presence at Joint Base San Antonio creates a stable rental pool, while the relative affordability versus Austin keeps single-family rehab and BRRRR inventory moving. Hilton funds purchase-rehabs across the inner-loop (Tobin Hill, Beacon Hill, Mahncke Park) and suburban flips toward Schertz, Universal City, and the SE Bexar pipeline. See our San Antonio page.

Dallas–Fort Worth

The DFW metroplex is Texas’s largest investor market by transaction count and the most mature. Investor focus has shifted toward smaller-margin volume flips in Mesquite, Garland, Arlington, and South Fort Worth, alongside value-add multifamily in older inside-635 stock. Hilton funds DFW deals where the underwriting holds — ARV-supported, exit-strategy-validated, and sponsor-experienced.

Austin

Austin compressed over the past 24 months. Margins on traditional single-family flips narrowed, but investor activity persisted in tear-downs near the urban core (Bouldin Creek, East Austin, Crestview) and in Round Rock / Pflugerville build-to-rent. Bridge financing for 1031 exchanges remains very active. Hilton lends in Austin where the deal works on a defensive ARV — not on optimistic post-renovation comps.

El Paso, Corpus Christi & Other Markets

We also lend in El Paso, Corpus Christi, McAllen, the Rio Grande Valley, Lubbock, Amarillo, and the smaller Texas markets where the deal structure makes sense. Smaller markets often have less hard-money capital available, which means cleaner pricing for sponsors who bring well-underwritten deals. Most of our smaller-market Texas deals are funded by referral from sponsors we’ve worked with on Houston, DFW, San Antonio, or Austin transactions.

Common Texas Deal Scenarios

To give a concrete sense of how Texas deals typically structure with us:

• Houston Heights tear-down: Investor acquires a 1940s bungalow on a 5,000 sq ft lot for $480K with intent to tear down and build a 2,800 sq ft new construction. We structure as a bridge into construction — initial advance against the lot value, construction draws against the build budget, single takeout into permanent debt or sale.
• San Antonio inner-loop BRRRR: Sponsor acquires a 3-bed, 2-bath in Beacon Hill for $185K with $55K rehab. We fund 75% of acquisition plus 100% of rehab held in draws. Sponsor refinances into a long-term DSCR-style investment loan at stabilization.
• Austin 1031 exchange bridge: Sponsor sells an out-of-state rental, has 45 days to identify and 180 days to close on an East Austin replacement property. We provide bridge financing that closes inside the exchange window, allowing the sponsor to refinance into permanent debt over the following 12–18 months.
• DFW value-add multifamily: Sponsor acquires a 12-unit value-add property in Arlington for $1.6M with $400K renovation budget. We structure as a 24-month bridge with rehab held in three draws against work-in-place inspections.

Loan Terms

The exact terms depend on the property type, the sponsor’s experience, and the deal structure. As a general guide for Texas borrowers:

• Loan amounts: $100,000 to $5,000,000+
• Interest rate range: approximately 8–12%
• Origination points: 1–3
• Loan-to-value: typically up to 70–75% of as-is value, sometimes higher on strong rehab/build deals based on ARV
• Term: 6 to 24 months, with options to extend
• No prepayment penalty on most programs

We underwrite asset-based: the property’s value and your exit strategy carry more weight than your personal tax returns or W-2.

Application Process

1. Initial conversation. Tell us about the property, your purchase price, the work it needs, and how you plan to exit. We give a verbal indication on the same call when we can.
2. Term sheet. If the deal fits, we issue a written term sheet with the proposed loan amount, rate, points, term, and any conditions.
3. Underwriting and appraisal. We order an appraisal or use a desktop valuation depending on the deal, review the rehab budget, and confirm title.
4. Funding. Most clean Texas deals close in roughly 7 to 14 business days from term sheet to wire.

Why Texas Investors Work With Hilton

Two reasons our Texas borrowers cite consistently:

We are the lender. Hilton Financial Corporation funds its own loans. We are not a broker placing your file with a capital partner who may or may not approve it. When we issue a term sheet, the funding decision is already made.

Forty-five years of pattern recognition. Hilton has been writing real estate loans since 1980 and has funded over $1 billion in volume. We have seen what works in this market and what doesn’t, and we tell you on the first call which it is. Investors don’t waste two weeks of underwriting to be told no.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you lend in Texas if I’m a first-time investor?

Yes, with caveats. We require the deal itself to underwrite cleanly — supported ARV, realistic rehab budget, defensible exit. First-time sponsors typically come in at slightly more conservative LTVs than experienced repeat borrowers.

What property types do you fund in Texas?

Single-family residential (rehab and rental), small multifamily (typically 2–20 units), mixed-use, and select commercial. We do not fund owner-occupied primary residences (we are a business-purpose lender).

How fast can a Texas deal close?

Clean files with delivered diligence routinely close in 7 to 14 business days. Faster is possible if the appraisal is already in hand and title is clear.

Do you lend on Texas land or undeveloped lots?

Yes, on entitled or substantially entitled lots in markets with clear comparable sales. We are conservative on raw land without entitlement.

Are you licensed in Texas?

Hilton Financial Corporation is a private business-purpose lender and lends in Texas under the applicable Texas Finance Code provisions for non-consumer commercial real estate loans. We are happy to walk through the regulatory framework on the first call.

What documentation do you need?

Property purchase contract, scope of work and budget if there’s renovation, sponsor entity documents, basic experience summary, and a stated exit strategy. We do not require tax returns, pay stubs, or DTI calculations.

Do you finance the rehab portion?

Yes — fix-and-flip and BRRRR loans are typically structured as an initial advance against the purchase plus a rehab budget held back and released in draws as work is completed and inspected.

Can I roll closing costs into the loan?

In most cases, yes — closing costs, points, and the first few months of interest reserve can be financed into the loan provided the total stays within our LTV/ARV limits.

Do you require an entity, or can I borrow personally?

Hilton lends to business entities (LLC, corporation, partnership, trust). We do not lend to consumers personally — our loans are business-purpose only.

What if my Texas deal is in a flood zone or has foundation concerns?

Both are common in Texas — particularly Houston flood zones and DFW expansive-clay foundation issues. We underwrite to those realities. Flood zones require flood insurance per FEMA designation; foundation work is just part of the rehab budget.

What to Have Ready When You Call

Most first calls take about 15 minutes. To get the most useful read on your deal, it helps to have:

• The address of the subject property and a basic property description (beds/baths/square footage/condition).
• Your purchase price and a copy of the executed contract if available.
• Your scope of work and budget if you’re planning rehab or construction. A line-item budget is best; a high-level number works for an indicative read.
• Your exit strategy — resale, refinance into a long-term loan and hold, refinance and pull cash out, or a combination.
• Your entity — LLC, corporation, partnership, or trust the loan will be made to.
• Your basic experience summary — number of similar deals you’ve completed, particularly in Texas or comparable markets.

You do not need tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, or a full personal financial statement to have a productive first call. We underwrite asset-based — the property and the deal carry the file.

About Hilton Financial Corporation

Hilton Financial Corporation has been writing real estate loans since 1980. Founded in Phoenix and headquartered in Arizona, the firm has funded over $1 billion in private money loans across the markets we serve. Jack W. Hilton (NMLS #143636) leads the firm, with more than 35 years in private real estate lending and direct involvement in every loan we issue.

We are a direct lender, not a broker. The capital we deploy is our own, the underwriting decision is ours, and the funding commitment we make is a real one. Investors who work with us repeatedly do so because the term sheet we issue today is the loan that closes next week — no last-minute conditions, no committee surprises, no broker chain.