Georgia hard money terms move by lender type, deal structure and which of the state's metros you're comparing — not by one statewide rate — so a useful comparison starts with the page built for your city and loan type, then applies the same handful of questions everywhere else, plus two costs that are unique to Georgia. This hub links every live Georgia blog page covering hard money, DSCR, bridge and construction financing, plus the Georgia and Atlanta market hubs, then works through leverage basis, draws, points, the state's 40% property-tax assessment ratio and the intangible recording tax's 62-month short-term-note line. Compare real term sheets on your Georgia deal
State: Georgia Live Georgia pages linked below: five blog articles plus two market hubs Georgia-specific cost lines: the 40% property-tax assessment ratio under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7, and the intangible recording tax's 62-month short-term-note definition under O.C.G.A. § 48-6-60(3), effective July 1, 2025 Floating-rate benchmark referenced below: SOFR (FRED SOFR series) at 3.87%, observations dated September 22 and September 23, 2026 What this hub is: a directory plus a shared comparison method, not a restatement of any single city's grid
Where can you compare hard money and other financing options across Georgia?
Five Georgia blog pages and two YieldStack market hubs already cover hard money, DSCR, bridge and construction financing, and the fastest path to a usable comparison is the page built for your metro and loan type, not a single statewide list. The table below links every one and states in one line what each covers, without repeating its grid.
| Page | Link | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta hard money | /blog/compare-hard-money-lenders-atlanta | Scores quotes on a six-axis framework — points, rehab advance and draw speed move the real cost more than the headline rate — with submarket detail from Buckhead to Sandy Springs |
| Atlanta DSCR | /blog/dscr-loan-atlanta | Walks worked rental archetypes across Fulton, DeKalb and Cobb counties, showing how a post-sale tax reassessment lands inside the coverage-ratio math |
| Georgia DSCR (statewide) | /blog/dscr-loan-georgia | Compares lender types on coverage floor, leverage, prepayment, short-term-rental treatment and reserves, including the state's property-tax, insurance and recording-tax math |
| Georgia multifamily construction | /blog/multifamily-construction-loans-georgia | Compares quotes on the sponsor cash each one demands — cost basis, the as-complete value cap, the interest reserve, guaranty release and the exit test — across Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta and Athens |
| Atlanta multifamily bridge | /blog/who-lends-on-a-multifamily-bridge-loan-in-atlanta | Compares how banks, private debt funds, agency bridge-to-permanent programs and private lenders each size leverage and test the exit on a metro apartment deal |
| Georgia market hub | /markets/georgia | Covers how Atlanta's institutional multifamily pipeline, Savannah's port-and-historic mix and Augusta's small-balance market diverge statewide |
| Atlanta market hub | /markets/atlanta | Covers how institutional and REIT capital crowding Buckhead, Midtown and the North Fulton corridor pushes small sponsors toward suburban value-add deals |
Each page applies its own detail to that metro or loan type — this hub sets out the shared comparison logic once, rather than repeating any single page's own grid.
Do points and rate vary more by Georgia city or by lender type?
Whether points and rate on a Georgia hard money quote vary more by city or by lender type is something to test on your own deal rather than assume, so ask every lender whether it prices a Savannah, Augusta or Athens file differently from an Atlanta one, and which of leverage, exit or location moves its number most.
Points on hard money paper are charged as a percentage of the loan amount at closing, so ask each lender how many points it charges and whether they apply to the full commitment or only the funded balance. Then score every quote on the same terms, whatever city is on the address.
Is Georgia hard money leverage measured against purchase price or ARV?
Leverage on a Georgia hard money quote can be measured against purchase price, after-repair value or total project cost, and the percentage alone does not say which base it uses, so the single most important question on any term sheet is which denominator that lender's advertised percentage is actually applied to.
According to NerdWallet, hard money lenders "typically offer loan amounts with LTVs that range from 50% to 75%," a spread wide enough to hide a large swing in actual proceeds once you know which base it is applied to. The Atlanta hard money page prices around this same ambiguity: its six-axis framework treats leverage against purchase and leverage against rehab as separate first-order terms, not footnotes. Ask every lender to write the denominator into the term sheet before you compare the percentage across offers.
How do draw and holdback terms differ across Georgia hard money deals?
Draw and holdback terms on a Georgia rehab loan come down to the same handful of questions whether the property sits in Buckhead or Bibb County: how many draws are allowed, what triggers a release, who inspects the work, how many business days the inspection takes, and whether materials delivered but not yet installed count toward a draw.
Ask how quickly the lender turns around a reinspection, because interest keeps accruing on the drawn balance while a subcontractor sits idle waiting on a second site visit. Confirm draw count, the release trigger, inspection turnaround and who pays for the inspection in writing before you sign, not on a call.
How does Georgia's 40% assessment ratio affect a hard money flip's carrying cost?
Georgia assesses most real property, including a hard money flip, at 40% of its fair market value under state law, and the Georgia Department of Revenue says counties set that value as of January 1 and review it against sales data, so a flip held across January 1 can carry a higher assessed value and tax bill.
The Georgia Department of Revenue states that "property is required to be assessed at 40% of the fair market value unless otherwise specified by law," citing O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7. Its property-tax FAQ adds that there is no state-mandated revaluation schedule: counties "annually review the values on the digest compared to sales data," and how often values are updated can vary by county. Applying that 40% figure by arithmetic, an illustrative $300,000 purchase is assessed at roughly $120,000 before any city or county millage rate is applied — illustrative math only, not a specific county's bill, since millage rates vary by jurisdiction and this page does not track them. A flip that closes and resells quickly may never see a mid-project reassessment; one that runs long enough to cross a county's assessment cycle can. Ask the seller for the current assessed value, and ask your hold-period model what a reassessment toward your purchase price would do to carrying taxes before you rely on last year's bill — the same question the Atlanta DSCR page models for rental holds.
Does Georgia's intangible recording tax apply to a hard money loan?
Georgia charges an intangible recording tax when a long-term note secured by real estate is recorded, but a note due in 62 months or less is defined by state law as short-term and is not subject to that tax, a threshold most hard money and fix-and-flip loans fall well inside.
Georgia's Department of Revenue rules set the rate at "$1.50 per each $500.00 or fraction thereof of the face amount of all notes secured thereby," with "the maximum tax on a single security instrument" capped at $25,000. House Bill 586 changed the definition of a long-term note, effective July 1, 2025: per the Georgia Department of Revenue's implementing bulletin, a note "being presented for recording that falls due within 62 months or less from the date of the note...will not be subject to the intangible recording tax." A hard money or fix-and-flip loan's term typically runs, per NerdWallet, "anywhere from a few months to a few years," so most notes clear the 62-month line comfortably — but confirm the stated maturity date on your specific note and security instrument, since the exemption is a property of the instrument's terms, not of the "hard money" label.
Do exit timing and extension terms differ across Georgia hard money deals?
Exit timing and extension terms in Georgia hard money lending are set loan by loan rather than by metro, and the two provisions that decide whether a schedule slip becomes a default are the same in Atlanta, Savannah or Macon: whether the extension is contractual or discretionary, and what it costs in points or dollars if you need one.
If a quote floats, ask which index it floats over — the Secured Overnight Financing Rate stood at 3.87% on September 23, 2026, per the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — because every month an extension adds is a month of carry at that index plus the lender's spread, on top of any extension fee. A discretionary extension is a renegotiation at the moment you have the least leverage, not a guarantee. Confirm in writing whether the option is contractual, how many extensions are available, and whether the note's stated maturity still keeps you inside Georgia's 62-month short-term-note line if you extend, then ask the lender's closing attorney whether an extension option changes how the note is classified for intangible recording tax.
How do you get lenders competing for a Georgia hard money deal?
You get lenders competing for a Georgia hard money deal by putting one complete file — leverage basis, draw schedule, exit plan and the note's stated maturity relative to Georgia's 62-month tax line — in front of several lender types at once, rather than calling one lender at a time and re-explaining the deal on every call.
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If a bridge loan fits a larger Georgia multifamily deal better than hard money, see who lends on a multifamily bridge loan in Atlanta. For rental property instead of a flip, see how DSCR lenders are matched to Georgia rental property.
The bottom line
There is no single Georgia hard money rate to shop against. Start with the page for your metro and loan type — Atlanta's hard money, DSCR or multifamily-bridge pages, the statewide Georgia DSCR and construction-loan pages, or the Georgia and Atlanta market hubs — then score every quote you collect on the same handful of things: which denominator the leverage percentage uses, how draws and holdbacks release money, how points stack up by lender type, whether the note's stated maturity sits inside or outside Georgia's 62-month intangible-recording-tax line, and whether a mid-project reassessment toward your purchase price would change the carrying-tax math. Rate is the last thing to compare, not the first.