The quick read: Compare Jonesboro hard money lenders by type and by exit, not by headline rate. Put a local private lender, a national fix-and-flip lender, a debt fund and a bank or credit union rehab line side by side on leverage basis, rate and points, draws and extensions, then test each offer against what happens when the work is done. In Jonesboro that exit is usually a refinance or a sale in a small-building market: the Census Bureau's 2025 permit file shows 18 buildings of five or more units in the metro, averaging under 7 units each. The exit also carries a tax reset. Arkansas assesses property at 20% of market value, and Amendment 79's annual caps on assessment increases do not apply to substantial improvements, which the state defines as work adding 25% or more to value. Size the take-out against the post-rehab tax line, not the seller's bill.
How do you compare hard money lenders for a Jonesboro flip or small rental rehab?
You compare hard money lenders for a Jonesboro flip or small rental rehab by asking each lender type the same questions on leverage basis, rate and points, draw mechanics and extension terms, then testing every written answer against the exit: the after-repair value an appraiser will support and the tax bill the finished property will carry.
Start with the property decision, not the loan. A Jonesboro investor buying a dated ranch house near the Arkansas State University campus, a duplex off Aggie Road, a fourplex on the north side or a lot in a southwest planned development is betting that the after-repair value (ARV), or the stabilized rent, justifies the price plus the work. The hard money loan only bridges the time to that exit, so the winning offer is the one whose terms survive it.
This framework compares four lender types. It is an evaluation method, not a ranking of named lenders:
- Local private lender: lends its own or its investors' money against the property, decides fast and prices for the uncertainty.
- National fix-and-flip lender: a nonbank lender with a standard program and draw process, whose terms still change by file.
- Debt fund: pooled capital that underwrites the business plan and often the sponsor's track record.
- Bank or credit union rehab line: leans on your credit, liquidity and deposit relationship.
For the general mechanics of the product, see our guide to hard money loans for commercial real estate.
What do published sources say about hard money leverage, rates and terms?
Published, dated sources give general ranges for hard money and fix-and-flip loans rather than Jonesboro quotes: NerdWallet puts typical hard money LTVs at 50% to 75% and fix-and-flip repayment at six to 24 months, and none of the sources cited here publishes points, draw fees or extension fees, so those become written questions.
| Lender type | Leverage basis | Rate and points | Draws | Term and extension |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lender type Local private lender | Leverage basis LTVs "from 50% to 75%"; down payment "10% to 30% (or more)" (NerdWallet, hard money) | Rate and points "High interest rates" (NerdWallet); ask entry and exit points in writing | Draws Ask who inspects, the fee per inspection and days to wire | Term and extension "A few months to a few years" (NerdWallet); ask the extension fee |
| Lender type National fix-and-flip lender | Leverage basis LTV "usually up to 90%"; some to 90% LTC or higher; 70% ARV example (NerdWallet, fix and flip) | Rate and points Higher than traditional lenders (NerdWallet); ask the rate, floor and points | Draws Ask how the rehab budget is held back and released | Term and extension "Six to 24 months" (NerdWallet); ask the extension fee |
| Lender type Debt fund | Leverage basis No public, dated source; ask whether sizing is on cost, as-is value or ARV | Rate and points No public, dated source; ask the index, spread and floor | Draws Ask the draw count and inspection turnaround | Term and extension No public, dated source; ask |
| Lender type Bank or credit union rehab line | Leverage basis No public, dated source; ask the internal limit | Rate and points No public, dated source; ask | Draws Ask whether draws need lien waivers and a title update | Term and extension Ask the maturity and renewal conditions |
Hard money LTV range (NerdWallet hard money guide, updated Mar 10, 2026): 50% to 75% Hard money down payment (same guide): 10% to 30% or more Fix-and-flip repayment term (NerdWallet fix-and-flip guide, updated Feb 11, 2026): six to 24 months
The denominator matters more than the percentage. In NerdWallet's worked examples, 80% of a $120,000 project cost is $96,000, and a 70% ARV lender lends at most $140,000 on a home worth $200,000 after repairs. Make each lender say which number its percentage applies to, whether the rehab budget sits inside that cap and whether points are financed or paid in cash.
Rate needs one Arkansas-specific question. A Federal Reserve working paper (revised 2023) describes Arkansas as the state with a 17 percent rate ceiling, constitutionally imposed, and notes federal preemption of that ceiling for banks. How it applies to a particular business-purpose loan, and which charges count toward it, is a question for the loan documents and your attorney, so ask each lender in writing which state's law governs the note.
Why does Jonesboro's small-building market change the comparison?
Jonesboro's small-building market changes the comparison because the exit buyer or refinance lender is usually underwriting a house, duplex or fourplex rather than an institutional apartment complex: the Census Bureau's 2025 estimates for the metro show 18 buildings of five or more units carrying 119 units, about 6.6 units per building (our arithmetic).
Jonesboro metro, 5+ unit buildings permitted in 2025 (Census Bureau): 18 buildings, 119 units Jonesboro metro, 3-and-4-unit buildings permitted in 2025 (Census Bureau): 59 buildings, 194 units Jonesboro metro, 2-unit buildings permitted in 2025 (Census Bureau): 44 buildings, 88 units Jonesboro metro, single-family homes permitted in 2025 (Census Bureau): 616 buildings
More units were permitted in three-and-four-unit buildings than in buildings of five or more. That is the transactable market a Jonesboro rehab feeds: small rentals bought by local investors or refinanced into a DSCR loan, and starter homes sold to owner-occupants. A lender that only knows institutional multifamily will not help much at the exit.
Prices are not doing the work for you either. The Federal Housing Finance Agency's all-transactions house price index for the Jonesboro metro, published on FRED, stood at 264.21 in the second quarter of 2026 against 266.75 a year earlier, about 1% lower (our arithmetic). A flip in this market earns its margin from the rehab and the buy price, not from appreciation during the hold, so an ARV that assumes rising prices deserves a second look.
How do Arkansas property taxes reset a finished Jonesboro rehab?
Arkansas assesses real property at 20% of market value, and Amendment 79 caps annual increases in taxable value at 5% for a homestead and 10% for other property, but not for substantial improvements, which the state defines as renovation adding 25% or more to value, so a heavy rehab is assessed at full value.
The Department of Finance and Administration's Assessment Coordination Division lays out the formula as market value times 20% equals assessed value, times local millage equals taxes, with its own example of $100,000 times 20% equal to $20,000, times .047 equal to $940. Its property tax relief page sets out the Amendment 79 limits:
Assessment ratio (Assessment Coordination Division, 2023 annual report): 20% of market value Homestead cap (DFA, Amendment 79): taxable value up 5% per year until it reaches full assessed value Other real property cap (DFA, Amendment 79): taxable value up 10% per year until it reaches full assessed value Not capped (DFA, Amendment 79): newly discovered property, new construction and substantial improvements Substantial improvement (DFA, Amendment 79): renovation, reconstruction or refurbishment adding 25% or more to value Craighead County reappraisal years (DFA reappraisal schedule): 2026, then 2030, 2034 and 2038, a four-year cycle Craighead County average overall millage (Assessment Coordination Division, 2022 school elections): 46.54
Two cautions on those last lines. The division's report notes that the Craighead County millage total is incomplete because data for the cities of Cash and Black Oak were unverified, and a county average is not the levy for any specific parcel, so pull the parcel's own bill. And the reappraisal schedule means a property bought in 2026 is valued on the new reappraisal, with the next countywide pass scheduled for 2030.
| Illustrative rehab tax line (our arithmetic) | Before rehab | After rehab, full value | After rehab, if capped at 10% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illustrative rehab tax line (our arithmetic) Market value (assumption) | Before rehab $110,000 | After rehab, full value $175,000 | After rehab, if capped at 10% $175,000 |
| Illustrative rehab tax line (our arithmetic) Assessed value | Before rehab $22,000 | After rehab, full value $35,000 | After rehab, if capped at 10% $24,200 |
| Illustrative rehab tax line (our arithmetic) Annual tax at 46.54 mills | Before rehab $1,023.88 | After rehab, full value $1,628.90 | After rehab, if capped at 10% $1,126.27 |
| Illustrative rehab tax line (our arithmetic) Monthly tax | Before rehab $85.32 | After rehab, full value $135.74 | After rehab, if capped at 10% $93.86 |
The rehab in this example adds about 59% to value, well past the 25% threshold, so the full-value column is the one to model. A light cosmetic job that adds less than 25% would stay under the 10% cap for non-homestead property, which is why the scope of work belongs in the tax model as well as the draw schedule.
What does the exit look like on an illustrative Jonesboro rental rehab?
On an illustrative Jonesboro rental bought for $110,000 with a $45,000 rehab and a $175,000 ARV, a lender capped at 70% of ARV lends $122,500, and a 75% DSCR refinance of $131,250 at 7.5% clears that payoff with coverage of about 1.28 on $1,500 of rent, using the full post-rehab tax line.
Every input is an illustrative assumption, not a quote, a market rate, an appraisal or a rent survey. The tax line uses the Craighead County average millage on the assumed ARV.
Hard money sizing: 85% of the $155,000 all-in cost would be $131,750, but a 70% ARV cap holds the loan to $122,500, so the cap binds and the investor funds about $32,500 of cost plus closing costs and carry.
Refinance at exit: 75% of the $175,000 ARV is $131,250; principal and interest at 7.5% over 30 years is $917.72 a month; tax is $135.74; insurance is $120.00 (assumption); the payment totals $1,173.46 and rent of $1,500 gives a DSCR of about 1.28. Had the model used the capped tax line, coverage would read about 1.33. About $23,750 of the investor's money stays in the deal after the refinance (all our arithmetic).
The comparison lesson: the lender whose leverage looks best on cost may not be the one that lends the most, because the ARV cap binds first. Ask every lender for its maximum loan on your actual budget and ARV, in dollars.
What should you ask about student rentals, comps and planned-development lots?
Three Jonesboro situations deserve their own written questions: whether a lender or the refinance lender behind it will credit student lease income near the Arkansas State campus, how the appraiser will source comparable sales in a small neighborhood market, and whether a lot in a planned-development district is treated as entitled.
Student rentals near campus. Leases near Arkansas State and the Aggie Road corridor may be by the bedroom, run 9 or 12 months or carry parent guarantees. Ask the hard money lender and the DSCR lender you plan to refinance with how each documents and counts that income before you buy, because the exit lender's answer sets the take-out.
Thin comparable sales. In smaller school zones such as Nettleton or Valley View, an appraiser may find only a handful of recent renovated sales. Ask whether the lender orders its own appraisal or broker opinion, how far it will reach for comps and what happens to the loan if the ARV comes in low.
Planned-development lots. A lot inside a planned-development district on the southwest side carries the approvals of that development plan. Ask for the approved plan and confirm with the City of Jonesboro what can be built, then ask the lender whether it will treat the lot as entitled or price it as land.
How do you get hard money lenders competing for a Jonesboro deal?
You get hard money lenders competing for a Jonesboro deal by sending each one the same package, with the purchase contract, the scope and budget, the ARV support and the exit plan with its post-rehab tax line, so their written terms can be compared on the same budget and the same exit.
YieldStack is an AI-native commercial mortgage brokerage that arranges financing for commercial real estate investors. Its software matches the deal against a catalog of 20,000+ loan programs, a count of programs rather than of lenders, and human brokers structure the request, negotiate for the borrower and carry the deal toward closing. Every credit decision is made by the lender; YieldStack arranges the introductions and negotiates on the borrower's side, and no loan, rate, or closing is guaranteed.
What to send:
- Purchase contract, property address and the current Craighead County tax bill
- Scope of work, contractor bids and the draw schedule you want
- ARV support: recent renovated sales you believe are comparable, with addresses
- Exit plan: sale price or the rent roll and refinance you are targeting
- For student rentals, the lease form and how rent is collected
- Your track record of completed rehabs, with dates and outcomes
The Jonesboro market hub collects our Jonesboro material and the Arkansas market hub covers the rest of the state; neither is a promise of any particular lender or term. When the package is ready, send the deal for review. It costs Zero upfront to submit a deal and review offers; YieldStack's broker fee is 0.50–1.00% of the loan amount and is paid only at closing.
The bottom line
Compare Jonesboro hard money lenders on the dollars each will lend against your actual budget and ARV, then on points, draws and extensions in writing. Test every offer against the exit: a small-building buyer or refinance lender, a metro price index about 1% lower than a year earlier, and a tax bill that resets at 20% of the full post-rehab value once the work adds 25% or more.