The quick read: Compare Savannah hard money lenders on the full cost of the loan over your real hold, not the headline rate. Then price three local items no rate sheet shows: the City of Savannah's flood rule, which counts renovation costs cumulatively over five years and requires two feet of freeboard; whether the house sits inside the city limits or in unincorporated Chatham County, where the elevation standard is higher; and Certificate of Appropriateness review in the seven historic districts the city lists on its preservation applications page.
This is the Savannah companion to how to compare hard money lenders in Georgia, which covers the statewide lines on every Georgia quote, including property tax assessment and the intangible recording tax. This page stays on what changes inside Chatham County. For local market context, see the Savannah market page and the Georgia market page.
What should a Savannah hard money comparison include?
A Savannah hard money comparison should put every lender type on one dated scorecard covering points and rate, leverage, term and speed, and draw and extension terms, then add the flood, jurisdiction and historic-review questions that decide how much rehab the loan must fund and how long you will carry it before the resale closes.
Table 1: Savannah hard money scorecard by lender type (published figures dated; other cells mean no dated public source was found on 2026-09-28)
| Lender type | Points and rate | Leverage (LTV / LTC) | Term and speed | Draws, extension and local questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private individual lender | No dated public figure; get both in writing | No dated public figure | No dated public figure | Ask who inspects draws, and whether elevation work is fundable from the holdback |
| Private lending company (hard money and fix-and-flip programs) | Hard money business loans have higher interest rates and less favorable repayment terms, making them riskier than many other loans (NerdWallet, Mar. 10, 2026); no published point range | Fix-and-flip LTV usually up to 90%; some lenders up to 90% LTC or higher (NerdWallet, Feb. 11, 2026). Hard money LTVs typically 50% to 75% (NerdWallet, Mar. 10, 2026) | Typically six to 24 months (NerdWallet, Feb. 11, 2026); some may approve within 24 hours and fund in as little as one to two business days (NerdWallet, Mar. 10, 2026) | No published figure; get days from draw request to wire, fee per draw, and extension fee and length on the term sheet |
| Community or regional bank (traditional lender) | Bank prime rate 7.00% as of Sept. 21, 2026 (FRED, DPRIME), a base rate rather than a flip quote | Traditional lenders may offer 80% to 90% LTV (NerdWallet, Mar. 10, 2026) | No dated public figure | Ask whether the bank lends on a non-owner-occupied rehab in a flood zone at all |
| Brokerage (YieldStack, publisher of this page) | Not a lender; the quoting lender sets rate and points | Set by the quoting lender | 5-minute submit; median offer in under an hour, from an institutional lender | Zero upfront; broker fee of 0.50–1.00% of the loan amount, paid only at closing |
How to read Table 1: the published figures describe what the market can reach nationally, not what a given Savannah house will get. Leverage on your file comes from the purchase price, the as-is value, the rehab budget, the after-repair value, your track record and the exit.
Why the blanks matter: points, draw fees and extension pricing are where two quotes with the same rate usually differ, and none of them has a dated public benchmark. Write each one into the term sheet request.
Which costs separate two Savannah quotes with the same rate?
Two Savannah quotes with the same rate usually differ on what the points are charged on, whether interest accrues on undrawn rehab money, what each draw costs and how long it takes, and what an extension costs, so add those four lines over your planned hold and divide by the loan amount to rank lenders on one number.
Points base: ask whether points apply to the total commitment, including the rehab holdback, or only to the amount funded at closing.
Interest on the holdback: ask whether interest runs on the full note from day one or only on funds drawn. On a Savannah rehab where elevation work inflates the budget, this line can outweigh a difference in rate.
Draw cost: ask for the fee per inspection and the business days from request to wire. A contractor waiting on a draw is a schedule cost even when it is not on the term sheet.
Extension: ask for the fee, the length, the number available and the conditions. Flood and historic review, covered below, are two Savannah-specific reasons a flip can run long.
How does Savannah's 50% flood rule change a rehab loan?
Inside the City of Savannah, the 50% rule counts repair and renovation costs cumulatively over five years against the structure's current fair market value, and a pre-FIRM house built before May 21, 1971 that sits below base flood elevation plus required freeboard must meet the city's flood ordinance, which since January 1, 2025 requires two feet of freeboard.
The city's flood FAQ says that "if a pre-FIRM house, a structure built prior to May 21, 1971, is below the Base Flood Elevation plus required freeboard and costs of repairs or renovations, cumulative over a five year period, exceeds 50% of the current Fair Market Value of the structure only, then the structure must be brought into the compliance with the City's current Flood Damage Protection Ordinance." The city's Flood Protection Information page states that on October 24, 2024 the city adopted "a two feet freeboard above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) for new and substantially improved structures within the 100 year floodplain," effective January 1, 2025.
Five years is the trap: the count is cumulative. Work a prior owner permitted in the last five years may already use part of the 50%, so pull the permit history before you set the rehab budget.
The denominator is the structure only: the test runs against the building's value, not the land and not your purchase price. The federal definition in 44 CFR 59.1 uses the market value of the structure before construction starts and a cost that equals or exceeds 50 percent.
Check the zone before the offer: the city points owners to the SAGIS map to look up a property's flood zone and contour grade.
Insurance timing: ask each lender what flood coverage must be bound before funding, and get a flood insurance quote on the house before you set the budget.
What to ask each lender: whether it will fund if the rehab crosses the 50% line, whether elevation is fundable from the holdback, and whether its after-repair value assumes a compliant finished floor.
Does it matter whether the house is inside Savannah city limits?
Yes, because Savannah-area flood rules follow the jurisdiction, not the mailing address: the city requires two feet of freeboard, unincorporated Chatham County requires three feet above base flood elevation, and other towns have their own floodplain administrators, so an identical rehab can carry a different elevation scope on each side of a line.
Chatham County's engineering department, writing for unincorporated residents, says that if an existing house's lowest finished floor is below base flood elevation plus three feet and repair or renovation costs exceed the structure's fair market value by more than 50%, the floor must be raised to at least the BFE plus "a three feet free board." The county also requires building permits from its Department of Building Safety and Regulatory Services before construction.
Near the city limit: two houses a few streets apart can sit on opposite sides of the boundary. Confirm the jurisdiction on the parcel record, not the ZIP code, before you price elevation work.
Other towns: Chatham County's flood facts page lists separate floodplain administrators for Thunderbolt and other municipalities, so a house there falls under that town's permits and flood ordinance. Ask its building office which standard applies and send the answer to every lender with the budget.
Why lenders care: a higher freeboard can raise the elevation scope, the rehab budget and the holdback, which changes the loan amount and the after-repair value the lender will accept.
How do Savannah historic districts change draws and timelines?
In the seven historic districts the City of Savannah lists, certain material changes in appearance may require a Certificate of Appropriateness, and because no City of Savannah page we reviewed on 2026-09-28 publishes a review timeline, the loan's draw schedule and maturity should be built around a written estimate from the preservation office, not the contractor's calendar.
The City of Savannah's historic preservation applications page says that "certain material changes in the appearance to resources within the Savannah Downtown, Victorian, Streetcar, Cuyler-Brownville, Ardsley-Park, Ardmore-Chatham Terrace and Historic Carver Village historic districts may require an application to secure a Certificate of Appropriateness." The same page links to meeting calendars for the Historic District Board of Review and the Historic Preservation Commission.
The mechanism: the city's applications page links to meeting calendars for the Historic District Board of Review and the Historic Preservation Commission but does not say which body reviews a given application. Ask the preservation office whether your scope goes to a board hearing and whether any work can start before the certificate issues; interest runs while you wait.
Get the clock in writing: before closing, ask the preservation office which review path your scope takes and the next submission deadline, and give that answer to each lender.
The flood link: the federal substantial-improvement definition excludes an alteration of a historic structure that does not preclude its continued designation. Ask the city's floodplain office how that applies to your house before assuming elevation is required.
What to ask each lender: whether it will close before the certificate issues, whether the draw schedule can run interior work first, and whether an extension caused by a review calendar is priced like any other.
What does Savannah's price trend mean for after-repair value?
By our arithmetic from the FHFA index on FRED, which is not seasonally adjusted, Savannah's metro house price index rose about 3.4% in the year to the second quarter of 2026 but sat below its third-quarter 2025 reading, so each lender's after-repair value should rest on recent sold comparables near the house, not a trend line.
The FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index for the Savannah metro, published on FRED and not seasonally adjusted, read 454.60 in the second quarter of 2025, 470.51 in the third quarter of 2025, 455.63 in the first quarter of 2026 and 469.92 in the second quarter of 2026. Illustrative (our arithmetic) from those values: roughly 3.4% year over year (469.92 / 454.60) and about 3.1% in the latest quarter alone (469.92 / 455.63), with the latest reading still below the third quarter of 2025.
Which cap binds: fix-and-flip lenders may size a loan by loan-to-value, loan-to-cost or a share of after-repair value (NerdWallet, Feb. 11, 2026); where more than one cap applies, the lower amount binds. When the after-repair figure leans on one quarter, a cautious appraisal can make that cap bind.
How value is set: ask whether the lender orders its own appraisal, relies on a broker price opinion or reviews your comparables, and how recent the sales must be.
Elevated versus not: a raised, compliant house and an unraised neighbor are not the same comparable. Ask how the lender adjusts for it.
How do you get lenders competing for a Savannah hard money loan?
You get lenders competing for a Savannah hard money loan by sending one complete file, with the contract, a rehab budget split into elevation, exterior and interior lines, the flood zone and jurisdiction, five years of permit history and, in a historic district, the certificate path, so every lender type prices the same deal on the same scorecard.
YieldStack is a commercial mortgage brokerage, not a lender. 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. The intake is a 5-minute submit, with a median offer in under an hour, from an institutional lender. 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. Submit your Savannah flip for lender quotes.
The bottom line
Compare Savannah hard money lenders on total cost over your real hold: points and their base, interest on undrawn rehab funds, draw fees and one extension, divided by the loan amount. Then price the local items no rate shows. Test the rehab against the city's cumulative five-year 50% rule, confirm whether city or county freeboard applies, get the Certificate of Appropriateness path in writing in a historic district, and base after-repair value on recent nearby sales.