The quick read: Compare hard money lenders on a Portland, Oregon project by the assumptions behind each quote, not the headline rate: how the lender treats a project near the city's 20-unit Inclusionary Housing threshold, how its draw schedule handles tenanted units, and how it sizes the exit refinance against Oregon's rent cap. The cap is published. The Department of Administrative Services set the 2026 maximum increase for ORS 90.323 tenancies at 9.5% and the 2027 maximum at 10%, and Portland's own code makes a landlord pay relocation assistance from a 10% increase. A short-term loan on a tenanted Lents or St. Johns building that assumes a fast jump to market rent can fail at the refinance, not at the rehab.
How do you compare hard money lenders in Portland, Oregon?
You compare hard money lenders on a Portland project by sending each one the same deal and scoring the answers on the Inclusionary Housing threshold, tenant protections, the rent-capped exit and draw timing, then comparing rate, points and leverage on top. Two quotes at the same rate can produce very different outcomes here.
Use one scorecard for every lender. The Portland fact in each row is sourced below; the strong and weak answers are the distinctions to listen for, not any lender's published policy.
Table: A Portland hard money scorecard (Portland Housing Bureau, ORS 90.323, Portland City Code 30.01.085)
| Test | Portland fact behind it | Strong lender answer | Weak lender answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test Unit count | Portland fact behind it Inclusionary Housing applies to buildings proposing 20 or more new units | Strong lender answer Prices the affordable units or the fee in the budget | Weak lender answer Ignores the program until permit review |
| Test Tenants in place | Portland fact behind it Relocation payments of $2,900 to $4,500 per unit on a no-cause termination | Strong lender answer Budgets notices and payments in the schedule | Weak lender answer Assumes vacant delivery |
| Test Exit rent | Portland fact behind it 2026 cap 9.5%, 2027 cap 10%, once in 12 months | Strong lender answer Sizes the refinance on in-place leases | Weak lender answer Sizes on asking rent |
| Test Building age | Portland fact behind it Units with a first certificate of occupancy under 15 years old are outside the cap | Strong lender answer Asks for the certificate date | Weak lender answer Treats every building alike |
| Test Comparables | Portland fact behind it The city bought 226 formerly market-rate units in 2025 for affordable use | Strong lender answer Checks whether a comp was a mission-driven purchase | Weak lender answer Uses any nearby sale |
What do published sources say about hard money leverage and terms?
Published consumer guides put typical hard money leverage at 50% to 75% of value with terms from a few months to a few years, and fix-and-flip loans at up to 90% of value at some lenders, sized against after-repair value. Treat these as a starting range; each Portland lender sets its own terms on the property.
NerdWallet's hard money guide (updated Mar 10, 2026) says lenders typically offer loan amounts with LTVs of 50% to 75% and may ask for a down payment of 10% to 30% or more. Its fix-and-flip guide (updated Feb 11, 2026) says repayment terms typically run six to 24 months, that the maximum LTV is usually up to 90%, and gives an example in which a lender offering 70% of after-repair value lends a maximum of $140,000 on a home that will be worth $200,000 after repairs. See the hard money loan definition, and test leverage on your own budget with the loan-to-cost calculator.
Typical hard money LTV (NerdWallet, updated Mar 10, 2026): 50% to 75%
Hard money down payment (NerdWallet, updated Mar 10, 2026): 10% to 30% or more
Fix-and-flip terms (NerdWallet, updated Feb 11, 2026): typically six to 24 months
How does Portland's 20-unit Inclusionary Housing threshold change a short-term loan?
Portland's Inclusionary Housing program changes a short-term loan because it applies to every building proposing 20 or more new units, which must either restrict a share of those units to households at 80% of median family income or below, use another option, or pay a fee in lieu at permit issuance.
The Portland Housing Bureau's program page lists the on-site choices: Option 1 restricts 20% of units at 80% of median family income, and Option 2 restricts 10% of units at 60%. Other options place the units off site or pay the fee, which the bureau calculates by formula. The bureau's FAQ says permits not vested as of February 1, 2017 are subject to the program if the building includes 20 or more new residential units, and that a project with fewer than 20 can opt in voluntarily, limited to Options 1 and 2.
So a ground-up or conversion plan sits on one side of a hard line. At 19 new units the program does not apply unless you elect it; at 20, the restricted units or the fee become part of the budget and the exit. Ask each lender two questions: does it underwrite the restricted rents in the exit value at 20 or more units, and will it fund a design that the city could treat differently if the unit count changes during permitting?
Inclusionary Housing trigger (Portland Housing Bureau): buildings proposing 20 or more new units
Option 1 (Portland Housing Bureau): 20% of units at 80% of median family income
Option 2 (Portland Housing Bureau): 10% of units at 60% of median family income
How should the exit refinance be sized against Oregon's rent cap?
The exit refinance should be sized on the leases the property will actually carry at maturity, because ORS 90.323 limits increases inside a tenancy to the yearly maximum, 9.5% for 2026 and 10% for 2027, once in any 12 months, with 90 days' written notice and none in a tenancy's first year.
The statute exempts a unit whose first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the notice, so a new Cully infill building is outside the state cap while a 1950s St. Johns fourplex is inside it. Portland adds its own threshold: under City Code 30.01.085, a tenant who receives a notice of 10% or more in a rolling 12 months can request relocation assistance, which the landlord must pay within 31 days. At the 2027 maximum, the two rules meet.
Illustrative example (our arithmetic, not a quote): a St. Johns fourplex bought for $700,000 with a $120,000 rehab and a $950,000 after-repair value. A lender at 70% of after-repair value caps the loan at $665,000; at 90% of cost it would be $738,000, so the value test binds. The refinance assumes 7.25% on a 30-year schedule, taxes of $650 a month, insurance of $250 and a 1.25 coverage ratio.
| Exit case (our arithmetic) | Monthly rent | Refinance supported | Gap to repay $665,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exit case (our arithmetic) Tenants stay at $1,450 | Monthly rent $5,800 | Refinance supported about $548,200 | Gap to repay $665,000 about $116,800 |
| Exit case (our arithmetic) Tenants stay, one 9.5% increase | Monthly rent about $6,351 | Refinance supported about $612,900 | Gap to repay $665,000 about $52,100 |
| Exit case (our arithmetic) Units re-leased at $1,800 after renovation | Monthly rent $7,200 | Refinance supported about $712,400 | Gap to repay $665,000 none |
The third case needs vacant units, and in a tenanted building that is a legal process, not a lease-up assumption. Ask each lender which row its exit assumes and whether it will extend if the refinance comes in on the first or second row.
What do tenant protections mean for a tenanted value-add rehab in Portland?
Tenant protections set the timeline and the cost of a tenanted Portland rehab, because after the first year of occupancy ORS 90.427 allows termination only for tenant cause or a qualifying landlord reason, such as renovations that make a unit unsafe or unfit to occupy, with 90 days' written notice.
The statute requires a landlord to pay one month's rent with that notice unless it has an ownership interest in four or fewer residential units. Portland's code then adds relocation assistance on terminations without cause or for a qualifying landlord reason: $2,900 for a studio, $3,300 for one bedroom, $4,200 for two and $4,500 for three or more, paid at least 45 days before the termination date, with at least 90 days' notice. A landlord must report each payment to the Portland Housing Bureau within 30 days.
On a 12-month hard money loan, 90 days of notice is a quarter of the term before construction in the unit can start. Put the notice dates, the per-unit payments and any units that stay occupied into the draw schedule, and ask each lender whether its interest reserve covers the notice period.
Notice for a renovation termination (ORS 90.427): not less than 90 days
Portland relocation payment, two bedrooms (City Code 30.01.085): $4,200
How did the city's 2025 acquisitions change the Portland comp set?
The city's 2025 acquisitions changed the Portland comp set because the Portland Housing Bureau facilitated the purchase of three formerly market-rate buildings with 226 units for conversion to affordable housing, so recent sales in Goose Hollow, Lower Albina and South Waterfront include buyers working with public funds.
The bureau's June 11, 2025 release lists Goose Hollow Lofts, 61 units built in 2018, with $6,000,000 of Metro bond funds and a total development cost of $14,347,040; the Paramount Apartments, a 1923 building with 66 units, 65 of them affordable, with $5,469,000 of tax increment and Inclusionary Housing fee funds and a $13,430,000 total cost; and the Acqua Apartments, 100 units completed in 2020 and foreclosed in 2024, with $14,500,000 of tax increment funds and a $23,490,792 total cost. The bureau's funds add to about $26 million.
By our arithmetic, those total development costs, which include acquisition, minor renovations and soft costs, run about $203,500 to $235,200 per unit. They are not arm's-length sale prices. A lender valuing your exit should say whether it used them and how it adjusted for the buyer.
Units converted (Portland Housing Bureau, June 11, 2025): 226 across three buildings
Total development cost per unit (our arithmetic on PHB figures): about $203,500 to $235,200
How do you get Portland hard money lenders competing for one deal?
You get Portland hard money lenders competing by sending every lender the same complete package, with the unit count, the tenancy dates, the notice and relocation budget, the building's certificate of occupancy date and the exit plan stated, so each quote prices the same risk rather than a different set of assumptions.
YieldStack is an AI-native commercial mortgage brokerage that arranges financing for commercial real estate investors. Software matches the deal against 20,000+ loan programs and compares the options; 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, rehab budget and a month-by-month schedule that includes notice periods
- Rent roll with each tenancy's start date and last increase
- Planned unit count, and the Inclusionary Housing option if it is 20 or more new units
- After-repair value support that flags any mission-driven sale used as a comparable
- The exit: sale, or a refinance sized on in-place or re-leased rents
When it is ready, send the Portland 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. Local context is on the Portland, Oregon market hub, and the Bend hard money guide applies the same state rules elsewhere in Oregon.
The bottom line
The best hard money quote on a Portland project is the one whose assumptions survive the city's rules: a unit count that prices the 20-unit Inclusionary Housing line, a schedule that budgets 90-day notices and relocation payments, and an exit refinance sized on rents Oregon's 9.5% and 10% caps allow. Score lenders on those tests first, then rate and points.