Fix and Flip Loans That Close in 5–7 Days

A fix-and-flip loan is a short-term bridge product built for one job: getting an investor from purchase to profitable resale as quickly as possible. Unlike a 30-year mortgage that amortizes principal over decades, a fix-and-flip loan is interest-only for the length of the project, which keeps monthly carrying costs low while capital is tied up in construction. When the renovated property sells — or refinances into permanent financing — the loan is paid off in full.

What sets the product apart from a standard purchase loan is that it finances the rehab as well as the acquisition. Cressida Direct sizes the loan against two limits at once: up to 92.5% of total cost (LTC), 90% of purchase and 90% of rehab, and up to 75% of the after-repair value (LTARV), the appraiser's opinion of what the finished property will be worth. The loan is the lower of those two figures, so both the money going in and the projected value coming out constrain leverage.

Because the goal is speed, the program is designed to close as fast as 5–7 days and carries no prepayment penalty — investors are never charged for paying the loan off early when a flip sells ahead of schedule. Interest is 8.90% for an experienced investor and 9.90% for a new investor, and it is charged Dutch, meaning it accrues on the full committed loan amount rather than only the portion of rehab funds drawn to date. Rehab in California is 9 to 12 months. Rehab in every other state is 6 months.

Every deal is sized to its own numbers, but the program runs on a consistent set of guardrails so investors and referral partners can underwrite a flip in minutes:

Two features define the cost of a fix-and-flip loan: it is interest-only, and interest is charged Dutch. Interest-only means each monthly payment covers only the interest that has accrued — none of the payment reduces the principal balance, because the entire loan is expected to be repaid at once when the property sells or refinances. That keeps monthly carrying costs predictable while the borrower's capital is committed to construction.

Dutch interest describes what the interest is calculated on. Under a Dutch structure, interest accrues on the full committed loan amount — including the rehab holdback — from day one, rather than only on the funds actually drawn as work progresses. The alternative, a non-Dutch or 'as-drawn' structure, charges interest only on money released to date. Cressida Direct's fix-and-flip program uses Dutch interest, so an investor should budget interest against the full commitment for the whole term, not just the drawn balance.

At 8.90% for an experienced investor or 9.90% for a new investor, and with no prepayment penalty, carry costs are known up front. The fastest path to protecting the return is to complete the rehab and exit quickly, because interest keeps accruing on the full commitment until the loan is paid off.

The purchase portion of a fix-and-flip loan funds at closing, but the rehab budget is held back and released in stages called draws. As each phase of the scope of work is completed and inspected, the corresponding draw is disbursed to reimburse the investor, which protects both borrower and lender by tying funding to verified progress. The combined loan — purchase funds plus the rehab holdback — is capped at the lower of 92.5% LTC and 75% LTARV.

Because interest is charged Dutch on the full committed amount, the draw schedule affects when cash arrives but not how interest is calculated: the investor pays interest on the entire commitment regardless of how much of the rehab holdback has been drawn. Planning the scope of work and draw milestones carefully keeps a project on schedule and helps preserve the deal's margin.

The program is focused on residential rehab and is open to a broad set of investors, from new investors to experienced investors:

The fix-and-flip program is not available in Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, or Wyoming, or in the Chicago MSA, the Detroit MSA, Baltimore City, and St. Louis. Delaware, Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming are outside the company footprint of 44 states (all except DE, HI, ND, SD, WV, WY). Louisiana, Minnesota, and those four markets are additional program exclusions. Foreign nationals are not eligible.

Individual (personal-name) vesting is available in every eligible state except Georgia (GA) and New Jersey (NJ); in those two states the loan must be vested in an eligible entity rather than an individual. If a property sits in one of the excluded states or metro markets above, the fix-and-flip program cannot be used for that deal. A Cressida Direct bridge loan is California commercial property only, so it is not a substitute for an excluded residential flip outside California.

In-house underwriting is what makes the 5–7 day close possible. The people who quote the terms are the ones who approve them. The clock starts when the term sheet is signed, not when the first email arrives.

The file still goes to underwriting in two steps, listed under What is the submission checklist? Step 1 is borrower info plus the purchase price, rehab budget, and ARV, and that package is what produces the term sheet. Step 2 is the twelve items after the term sheet: the signed term sheet, purchase agreement, photo ID, credit authorization, W-9, proof of funds, entity documents, track record, scope of work, escrow contact, broker invoice on a brokered deal, and the Pruvan contact for inspections and draws.

Fix-and-flip pricing has no prepayment penalty. Origination is a 2% origination fee, subject to a $3,000 minimum. The documentation fee is $1,995 and the underwriting fee is $1,495. Because interest is interest-only and charged Dutch on the full commitment, the largest cost over the life of a short-hold flip is usually the accrued interest — which is exactly why fast rehab and a quick exit protect the return.

A fix-and-flip file goes to underwriting in two steps.