Hard Money Lender San Francisco
Rehab Financing
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Rehab Financing in San Francisco, CA

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About Rehab Financing

San Francisco's pre-1940 housing stock is the backbone of the city's architectural identity and the primary target of our rehab financing program. Edwardian flats in Noe Valley, Victorian Painted Ladies in Alamo Square, cripple-wall single-families in Glen Park, hillside Craftsmans in Forest Hill — these structures carry enormous intrinsic value and enormous deferred maintenance. Rehabilitating them requires capital that extends beyond a cosmetic flip loan: foundation cripple-wall replacement, seismic bracing, knob-and-tube rewiring, galvanized pipe replacement, dry-rot remediation, and historic-character preservation all add up to project budgets that conventional lenders will not touch. Hard Money Lender San Francisco offers rehab loans from $300,000 to $10 million with terms from twelve to thirty-six months, structured around the realities of San Francisco's building department and the cost of Bay Area construction labor. We do not penalize borrowers for the city's permit review cycles. Our draw schedules are milestone-based and inspected in-house, with funds released within two to three business days of verified completion. We have financed complete gut renovations of pre-1906 Victorians, full seismic retrofits on Nob Hill mid-rise condos, and foundation-to-roof restorations of Edwardian flats in the Inner Sunset's fog belt. For investors using 1031 exchange proceeds — common among out-of-state California-tax-arbitrage sellers liquidating appreciated properties elsewhere and deploying into SF — our rehab program provides the identified-replacement-property certainty that exchange deadlines demand. We close in the identification window and hold renovation draws until the exchange is legally complete, working with your QI on timing. Tech-LP borrowers with early-employee equity from Anthropic, Anduril, or Databricks rounds often deploy into value-add rehab projects as their primary real estate vehicle; our program is calibrated to sophisticated investors who understand risk and expect execution.

Hard Money Lender San Francisco provides rehab financing for Bay Area sponsors who need quick, decisive execution without conventional bank delay.

We structure each loan around collateral profile, timeline, and exit strategy to support your business plan from acquisition through disposition or refinance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you fund the cost of a mandatory soft-story seismic retrofit as part of a rehab loan?

Yes. Soft-story retrofit costs are treated as a construction draw line item in our rehab loans. We require a licensed structural engineer's scope of work, permit drawings, and contractor bid before closing, then release retrofit funds in milestone draws: demolition and shoring, steel frame or shear wall installation, and city compliance inspection sign-off. For buildings in the city's Tier 1 or Tier 2 enforcement window, we time the draws to the building department's compliance deadline so borrowers avoid the city's non-compliance penalty regime.

How do you handle rehab loans on properties in SF historic districts?

We lend on properties in Article 10 landmark and Article 11 conservation districts with an additional draw milestone tied to Historic Preservation Commission approval of exterior work. Borrowers must provide a qualified preservation architect's review of the proposed scope before we close. We do not limit loan amounts based on historic status — in fact, successful historic restoration in Pacific Heights or Presidio Heights creates among the strongest ARVs in our portfolio. We simply require the documentation that confirms the renovation plan is consistent with city preservation guidelines.

What is your policy on CEA earthquake insurance for rehab collateral?

CEA earthquake insurance is required on all San Francisco residential collateral from the date of loan close. For properties undergoing seismic retrofit as part of the rehab scope, we require the policy to be bound at close and will note the retrofit-in-progress to the insurer. Post-retrofit, many borrowers see premium reductions of 10–30%; we recommend working with a CEA-authorized agent to update the policy once the compliance certificate is issued. We verify coverage at every draw disbursement and require the lender to be listed as mortgagee on the policy.

Do you offer rehab loans for fire-damaged properties in San Francisco?

Yes. Fire-damaged properties are among our most common rehab applications — sellers are often motivated to exit quickly, and experienced contractors can assess rebuild scope efficiently. We require a licensed contractor's damage assessment and a preliminary scope-and-cost estimate before closing. For properties where the fire has compromised structural elements, we require a structural engineer's review. We do not lend above 65% of the finished value on fire-damaged acquisitions until the first draw inspection confirms that demolition and stabilization are complete, at which point we can advance to 70–75% LTV for the remaining draws.

Can I use a 1031 exchange to fund the equity for a rehab loan?

Yes. Many of our borrowers use exchange proceeds as the down payment for rehab acquisitions, with our loan providing the balance up to 70–75% of completed value. We work with your qualified intermediary to time the close within the 180-day exchange window and can structure the initial acquisition draw to fund at close while holding renovation draws in the controlled account. The critical path is usually appraisal and title; we prioritize both to ensure the close happens within your exchange identification deadline.

Available Throughout the Bay Area

San FranciscoOaklandBerkeleyDaly CityAlamedaSan MateoRedwood CityHaywardSan LeandroFremontMountain ViewSunnyvale
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