Alaska investors work in a market shaped by geography. Only one metro area is large enough for most lenders' location rules, sale prices are kept out of the public record, and the building season is short. This page explains where our lending partners can finance, how to value a deal without public sale data, the costs and landlord rules, and our lending partners' terms.
Our lending partners' underwriting guidelines look for property within about 45 to 60 minutes of a metro area of 200,000 people or more. In most states that rule trims a few rural counties. In Alaska it defines the whole market, because only one metro area is that big.
Anchorage itself, from Eagle River to South Anchorage, qualifies.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Wasilla and Palmer, is part of the Anchorage metro and within the hour, and it has been one of the state's busiest areas for new housing.
Everywhere else is harder. The Kenai Peninsula is a few hours' drive from Anchorage, Fairbanks is most of a day, and Juneau is not on the road network at all. None of them has a metro of 200,000 people, so properties there generally fall outside the guideline.
Two more rules apply: a finished value of at least $100,000, which most Anchorage-area houses clear, and a lot of two acres or less, which rules out many of the larger Mat-Su parcels.
Alaska is a non-disclosure state. Sale prices generally do not appear in the public record, so the public-data tools investors rely on elsewhere are thin here.
Build your after-repair value from closed sales pulled from the multiple listing service by a local agent, and ask about finishes, heating systems and lot size on each comparable. The lender's appraiser works from the same kind of data. In a market this small, a single unusual sale can pull an estimate far off, so look at every comparable yourself.
No transfer tax. Alaska does not tax real estate transfers, which leaves a flip more of its margin.
No statewide property tax. Property tax is set locally. The Municipality of Anchorage and the Mat-Su Borough each set their own rates, so get the current figure for the exact address before you estimate holding costs.
The building season. Exterior work, foundations and anything that needs the ground thawed is compressed into a short summer. Our lending partners' guidelines describe nine months as the standard term, so a project bought in the fall with a new roof or siding planned should plan for that work in spring or early summer, and budget heat for the months the house sits empty.
Materials and labor. Much of what goes into a renovation is shipped in, and good contractors book up fast in summer. Get firm bids with dates before you close.
Foreclosure by trustee sale. Alaska generally forecloses outside court under a deed of trust, a faster process than in judicial-foreclosure states.
Alaska's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies statewide.
Security deposits are capped at two months' rent, unless the rent is more than $2,000 a month. They must be returned within 14 days if the tenant gave proper notice to end the tenancy, or 30 days if not, with an itemized list of deductions.
Unpaid rent: a notice giving the tenant seven days to pay or leave, then an eviction case if neither happens.
For a buy-and-hold investor in Anchorage, the rent a unit commands in winter, and the cost of heating it, matter as much as the purchase price. A DSCR loan qualifies on that rent. Our lending partners' DSCR program runs from $75,000 to $2 million at up to 80 percent of value, with rates from 5.99 percent on the program page.
No Alaska borough is on the list where our lending partners cap leverage at 50 percent, so standard terms apply wherever the location test is met.
Fix and flip and bridge loans: from $50,000, up to 100 percent of cost but no more than 70 percent of after-repair value, with a 600 minimum credit score. Standard pricing under the underwriting guidelines is 12.99 percent and 2.99 points. The 10.99 percent starting rate is available after two loans have been paid off in good standing with our lending partner; a first-time borrower should expect to start above it and earn the way down.
Construction loans: $100,000 to $3 million on non-owner-occupied single-family homes, from 8.5 percent.
Loans close in an entity such as an LLC, and every owner of 30 percent or more personally guarantees the loan. Terms change, so we confirm them for your property before you commit.
Yes, in the Anchorage area. Our lending partners finance in Alaska, but their guidelines look for property within about 45 to 60 minutes of a metro area of 200,000 people or more. Anchorage, including the Matanuska-Susitna Borough around Wasilla and Palmer, is the only metro in the state that size.
Generally not through our lending partners. Fairbanks and Juneau are well outside the reach of the Anchorage metro, and neither has a metro area of 200,000 people, so properties there fall outside the location guideline.
No. Alaska does not charge a transfer tax when real estate is sold, so a flip keeps money that would go to taxes in many other states.
Yes. Sale prices are not generally part of Alaska's public record, so you cannot reliably look up what nearby homes sold for. An agent with multiple listing service access is the practical way to find real comparable sales.
No more than two months' rent, unless the monthly rent is more than $2,000. The deposit must be returned within 14 days if the tenant gave proper notice to end the tenancy, or 30 days if not, with an itemized list of deductions.
The landlord can serve a notice giving the tenant seven days to pay the rent due or leave. If the tenant does neither, the landlord can file an eviction case.
Holding an Anchorage rental? Our two free landlord books compare what a rental costs to carry across the states.
Answer these and your deal goes to our lending partner's team, who will contact you about whether it is fundable and on what terms. By sending it you agree to your details being shared with them. Investment property only — our lending partners do not finance a home you will live in.
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Dominion Hard Money does not lend its own funds; it arranges financing through third-party lending partners. All financing is arranged for business purposes only and secured by non-owner-occupied investment property. Not a commitment to lend. All loans subject to underwriting, property review, and approval by the lender. Terms vary by property, borrower experience, and exit strategy.
Washington · Location rules for flip loans · DSCR rental loans · Construction loans · All states