Fix and flip
You buy it, renovate it and sell it. Interest only, structured so you do not pay interest on rehab money you have not drawn yet. In Tampa, build the flood disclosure you will owe your buyer into the plan from the start.
Tampa after two hurricanes in two weeks
In the fall of 2024, Hurricane Helene pushed storm surge into the Tampa Bay coastline and Hurricane Milton followed less than two weeks later. Thousands of Bay-area houses took on water. For an investor, that left two things: a supply of flood-damaged and storm-tired houses with motivated owners, and a much stricter set of questions from building departments, insurers and buyers.
Hillsborough County remains a large, liquid market. One market tracker put the county's median sale price at about $437,000 in late August 2026, up about 1 percent from a year earlier, with homes going under contract in about 38 days and roughly a third of listings carrying a price cut. That is a balanced market: room to negotiate on the purchase, and no reason to assume a quick resale.
The money in Tampa now is made by the investor who knows which houses can be renovated as planned, what they will cost to insure, and what has to be disclosed when they are sold or rented.
The 50 percent rule decides what a storm-damaged house is worth
Under the National Flood Insurance Program, a house in a mapped flood zone that is substantially damaged, or substantially improved, has to be brought up to current floodplain standards. The line is 50 percent of the market value of the structure, not counting the land. Cross it and the renovation can turn into an elevation project or a teardown.
That is why two similar flood-damaged houses on the same Tampa street can be worth very different amounts to an investor. One needs a $60,000 rehab on a structure valued at $180,000 and can be renovated in place. The other needs $110,000 on the same value and cannot, without meeting elevation rules. Local building departments make the determination, and some local governments set a stricter threshold or count work over more than one year.
Before you buy a flood-damaged Tampa house, find out whether the local building department has already issued a substantial damage letter, what structure value it used, and how your scope of work will be counted. Price the deal on the answer.
Insurance and disclosure: three Florida rules to build in
The Citizens flood mandate. Florida's Legislature requires Citizens Property Insurance policyholders with wind coverage to carry flood insurance, phased in by home value since 2024. By January 1, 2027, essentially every Citizens personal residential policy with wind coverage needs flood coverage, whether or not the house is in a mapped flood zone. If your Tampa rental will be insured through Citizens, budget a flood policy too.
Seller flood disclosure. Since October 1, 2024, a seller of residential property in Florida must give the buyer a flood disclosure at or before signing the contract, covering flood insurance claims and federal flood assistance. When you resell a renovated Tampa house, your own flood history goes on that form.
Landlord flood disclosure. Since October 1, 2025, a Florida landlord must give a prospective tenant a separate flood disclosure at or before signing a lease of one year or longer, covering known flooding, flood claims and federal flood assistance. A tenant who was not told and then loses substantial property in a flood can end the lease.
None of these rules stops a Tampa deal. Each one is a cost or a document that belongs in your plan before the offer, not after.
Have a deal on the table?
Send the address, the numbers and your exit. Our lending partner's team reviews it and tells you whether it fits and on what terms. The lender makes every credit decision.
What the money costs
Terms from our lending partners, so you can price a deal before you call anybody. The lender decides every file.
Fix & flip and bridgeStandard pricing starts at 12.99% plus 2.99 points. From $50,000, minimum credit score 600, up to 100% of cost and no more than 70% of after-repair value, whichever comes first.
DSCR rentalQualified on the property's rent, not your tax returns. no minimum credit score, from $75,000 to $2 million, up to 80% of value on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance.
Short-term constructionNon-owner-occupied ground-up or heavy rebuilds, priced like other short-term loans from 12.99% plus 2.99 points. Confirm the leverage and loan size for your project with the lender.
Leverage moves with documented experience over the past three years. Borrowers who have paid off two loans with the lending partner in good standing can qualify for loyalty pricing of 10.99% plus 1.99 points. Every loan is business purpose, non-owner-occupied, and written to an entity such as an LLC or corporation rather than to you personally. If you do not have an LLC yet, set one up before closing.
Where Tampa investors are buying
A county or metro median is close to useless for a Tampa flipper, because the spread inside Tampa Bay is enormous. These are the areas investors work most, and what makes each one different.
| Area | What it is |
|---|---|
| East Tampa & Sulphur Springs | The entry point inside the city, with older block houses and much of the flip volume. Check rehab scopes against the structure value carefully. |
| Seminole Heights | Older bungalows near the Hillsborough River, bought, renovated, then sold or rented. The classic value-add play, and the most competition. |
| Ybor City | Older, walkable stock with steady rental demand. Historic district rules can affect exterior work. |
| Temple Terrace | A University of South Florida renter pool underneath it. Steady rather than spectacular. |
| Riverview & Brandon | Newer suburban stock for families priced out of the city. HOA rental rules matter here. |
| Pasco County | Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills and New Port Richey. Lower entry prices; coastal west Pasco took storm flooding, inland areas did not. |
| Polk County (Lakeland) | An inland, lower-cost way into the wider Bay area, between the Tampa and Orlando job markets. |
South Tampa and the waterfront neighborhoods are the opposite case: high entry prices, thin cash-on-cash returns, and the heaviest flood and insurance exposure. They can work for an experienced flipper with a priced-in elevation plan; they rarely work as a first rental.
Be careful with condos
Florida's post-Surfside laws require milestone structural inspections for many older condominium buildings of three stories or more and structural integrity reserve studies, and associations that put off repairs have been levying large special assessments. Associations can also restrict renting. A condo that pencils on paper can stop working the moment an assessment lands.
Single-family is generally the simpler structure for Tampa Bay investors right now. If you are looking at a condo, get the association's milestone inspection, reserve study, budget and assessment history before you apply for a loan.
The loans, and which one your deal is
Rehab loans
Purchase plus a rehab budget, released in draws as work is inspected. On storm-damaged Tampa stock, the scope must be real and must stay within what the building department will allow without elevation, unless the deal is priced for it.
Bridge financing
Short-term capital while longer-term financing is arranged. Useful when a Tampa seller wants a fast, as-is close on a house a conventional lender will not touch until it is repaired.
DSCR rental loans
For keepers. Qualified on what the property earns, not on your tax returns. In Tampa the payment includes the homeowners and flood premiums, so get both quotes before you size the loan.
What gets a Tampa deal declined
Most declines are one of these, and most are avoidable.
- A flood-damaged house with no substantial damage answer. If the scope crosses 50 percent of the structure's value, the plan and the budget change.
- No insurance quote. Wind and flood premiums decide many Tampa rentals. Quote both during your inspection period.
- Owner-occupied. These are business-purpose loans. If you intend to live in it, this is the wrong product.
- No entity. The loan is written to an LLC or corporation. Set one up before you are under contract.
- An after-repair value based on hope. Recent renovated sales on the same street, with the same flood zone. A dry street and a flooded street a few blocks apart are not comparable.
Tell us the numbers honestly and our lending partner's team will tell you plainly whether the deal fits.
Working a deal in Tampa?
Send it through the form above and our lending partner's team will review your deal.
Send it through the form above and our lending partner's team will review your deal.
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Florida · Orlando · Jacksonville · DSCR rental loans · Fix and flip loans
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Questions Tampa investors ask
Can I get a hard money loan on a flood-damaged house in Tampa?
Often, yes, if the plan works under Florida's flood rules. Expect the lender to ask whether the house has been declared substantially damaged and how the scope compares with the structure's value. The lender decides each file.
What credit score do I need for a Tampa fix and flip loan?
Our lending partners require a minimum of 600 for fix and flip and bridge loans. DSCR rental loans have no minimum credit score because they are qualified on the property's rent.
What is the smallest loan I can get for a Tampa deal?
$50,000 on short-term fix and flip, rehab and bridge loans. Most rehab deals in the Bay area clear that comfortably. For a DSCR rental loan, confirm the minimum loan amount with the lender for your property.
Do I need flood insurance on a Tampa rental outside a flood zone?
If the house is insured through Citizens with wind coverage, very likely yes: Florida is phasing in a flood insurance requirement for those policies, reaching all of them by January 1, 2027. A private insurer or the lender may also require it.
Do I have to tell Tampa tenants about past flooding?
Yes, for leases of one year or longer signed since October 1, 2025. Florida requires a separate flood disclosure covering known flooding, flood insurance claims and federal flood assistance during your ownership.
Do I need experience to get a hard money loan in Tampa?
No, but it changes your leverage. Terms improve with deals documented over the past three years. Standard pricing starts at 12.99 percent plus 2.99 points; loyalty pricing of 10.99 percent plus 1.99 points applies only after two loans have been paid off with the lending partner in good standing.
Sources
- Momentum, Tampa housing market data, the Hillsborough County median of about $437,000, days to contract and price cuts as of August 2026 (accessed Oct 2026)
- FEMA, Substantial improvement, the 50 percent of structure value definition (accessed Oct 2026)
- Citizens Property Insurance, Flood insurance requirement, the phased flood coverage requirement for Citizens policies (accessed Oct 2026)
- News4JAX, Flood insurance will be mandatory for most Citizens policyholders by 2027, the January 1, 2027 final phase (accessed Oct 2026)
- Florida Senate, CS/CS/HB 1049 (2024), the seller flood disclosure effective October 1, 2024 (accessed Oct 2026)
- Florida Statutes section 83.512, the landlord flood disclosure for leases of one year or longer (accessed Oct 2026)
- Florida Statutes section 553.899, milestone inspections for condominium buildings (accessed Oct 2026)
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.