Free Guide: The Real Estate Investor’s Guide to Private Lending

Most deals that fall apart in underwriting were never going to fund. Not because the investor was a bad risk, but because nobody told them the rules before they signed a purchase contract. This guide sets the rules out in plain English, taken from the published terms our lending partner actually uses.

A house in the middle of a renovation, the kind of fix-and-flip project the guide works through — The guide runs a real first flip through every rule: $180,000 purchase, $40,000 of work, $300,000 after repair.

What is inside

The real priceThe advertised rate, the standard rate a first-time borrower actually starts at, and what a point costs in dollars.

How much they will lendLoan-to-cost against loan-to-value, why the lower one wins, and the six counties capped at 50 percent.

The cash you still needWhy a loan covering “100 percent” of the project still needed about $40,000 of the borrower’s own money.

The qualification checklistCredit, reserves, your company, your experience and the property, item by item, before you sign anything.

Five mistakes that kill dealsFamily living in the house, the no-money-down myth, the first-timer rehab cap, thin margins and no exit plan.

The documents to gatherEverything underwriting will ask for, so your file moves on the lender’s clock instead of yours.

Why it is free. Dominion Hard Money does not lend its own money. We place deals with a third-party lending partner, and that partner pays us when a loan closes. The investors who read this guide first are the ones whose deals actually close, which is better for everyone. There is no obligation.

Papers and a pen on a desk, standing in for the loan documents the guide's checklist covers — Chapter 9 lists every document underwriting will ask for.

Send me the guide

Four quick answers. The download page opens as soon as you press the button.

Want more depth? Our two landlord books are free as well, and all four of our books are on the Books page.

Dominion Hard Money does not lend its own funds. It arranges financing through third-party lending partners and is compensated by those partners. Terms in the guide are summarized from the lending partner’s published programs as of September 2026 and change without notice. Nothing here is a loan commitment, an offer of credit, or legal, tax, insurance or investment advice.