How to Close a Fix-and-Flip in 10 Days (And Why Banks Can’t Compete)

If you have ever tried to fund a fix-and-flip through a conventional bank, you already know what happens next. They ask for your W2s, two years of tax returns, a business P&L, and a credit profile that looks like you have never taken a risk in your life. Then they ask you to come back in six to eight weeks.

By then, the deal is gone.

This is the fundamental mismatch between how banks underwrite and how distressed real estate actually works. Banks are built for 30-year hold periods. Fix-and-flips live in 6-month windows. The underwriting process has to match the asset – and for most investors, that means private capital, not conventional banks.

At Slate Financial, we fund fix-and-flip loans across Florida, Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina. Investors who match their capital source to the deal close in 10-14 days. Those who don’t lose the deal. Here is how it works.

Ready to see if your deal qualifies? Apply in 2 minutes at slatefinancial.io/apply/fix-and-flip.

Why Banks Cannot Fund Fix-and-Flip Deals Fast

Conventional banks sell their loans to the secondary market – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA pools. To sell those loans, they must meet standardized underwriting criteria designed for owner-occupied, 30-year mortgages. Those criteria were not designed for a six-month flip on a distressed property.

This creates structural problems for investors using conventional financing:

• Investment property overlays – Most banks add 0.75-1.5% to rates and require 20-25% down on non-owner-occupied properties. Many will not touch investment real estate at all.
• Appraisal timelines – Conventional appraisals take 10-30 days and appraise the property as-is, not at after-repair value (ARV). Private lenders work from ARV, which is how the deal actually pencils.
• Underwriting queues – Bank loan processing cycles run in weeks, not days. A complete file takes 30-60 days minimum to clear underwriting.
• No draw schedule products – Banks typically do not offer construction draw schedules for rehab capital. Private bridge lenders do – they fund the purchase and release rehab draws as work is completed.

What Private Lenders Look at Instead

Private lenders underwrite the deal, not the borrower’s income history. The primary factors are:

• After Repair Value (ARV) – What comps say the property is worth post-rehab. This is the exit number the entire deal is built around.
• Loan-to-Cost (LTC) – Your total loan amount divided by total project cost (purchase plus rehab). Most private lenders fund up to 85-90% LTC, meaning investors need far less capital at closing than with conventional financing.
• Loan-to-Value (LTV) – Your loan amount divided by ARV. Most lenders cap this at 65-75% of ARV to preserve their loss buffer.
• Rehab scope and timeline – A realistic, documented rehab plan tells the lender when they will get repaid and whether the budget is credible.
• Exit strategy – Sale (most common) or refinance into a DSCR rental loan. Both require documentation of the exit path.

Credit still matters – most private lenders carry a minimum, commonly in the 580-620 range – but it is not the primary gate. A deal with strong ARV spread and a documented rehab scope can qualify when a borrower’s credit score would disqualify them from any conventional product. All funding is subject to lender approval and individual underwriting criteria.

The 10-Day Close: What the Timeline Actually Looks Like

Closing a fix-and-flip in 10 days is not luck. It requires the right capital source and a prepared borrower. Here is the realistic sequence:

• Day 1: Submit a complete deal package – application, signed purchase contract, rehab scope, and comps supporting ARV.
• Days 2-3: Lender reviews the file and orders a drive-by BPO or desk review.
• Days 4-5: Term sheet issued. Borrower signs the commitment letter.
• Days 6-8: Title search, insurance confirmation, and final underwriting review.
• Days 9-10: Closing documents prepared, wire sent, deal closed.

Deals close faster when borrowers submit a complete file on Day 1. Incomplete files – missing comps, no contractor bids, unsigned contract – add 3-7 days and sometimes kill the deal entirely.

Deal Math at 90% LTC: A Real Example

Let’s run a simple example (fictional borrower – results not typical. Funding subject to lender approval.):

• Purchase price: 85,000
• Rehab budget: 5,000
• Total project cost: 50,000
• 90% LTC loan amount: 25,000
• Borrower equity at close: 5,000
• ARV supported by comps: 60,000
• Gross spread: 10,000
• Less carry, selling, and financing costs: approximately 5,000
• Estimated net: approximately 5,000

At 90% LTC, the borrower needs 5,000 at closing – not 50,000. That is the core advantage of private lending structured around the deal. It unlocks transactions that would otherwise require a full capital stack most investors do not have liquid.

Markets We Fund: Florida, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina

Private capital is available in most markets, but depth varies. In Florida (Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, South Florida, Orlando), Texas (DFW, Houston, Austin, San Antonio), Georgia (Atlanta metro, Savannah, Augusta), and South Carolina (Charleston, Greenville, Columbia), the fix-and-flip ecosystem is mature. These markets have the deal volume, active comps, and lender familiarity that makes private underwriting efficient and fast.

Coastal Florida properties carry additional considerations – flood zone, insurance cost – that underwriters will factor in regardless of credit. Strong deal math still wins in coastal markets, but budget for higher insurance in your carrying cost analysis.

How to Strengthen Your Application

If you want a 10-day close, do the work before Day 1:

• Pull 3-5 closed comps within 0.5 miles in the last 90 days that support your ARV.
• Get a signed contractor bid with line-item detail, not a round-number estimate.
• Know your exit: sale timeline, listing price, and what happens if it takes longer than expected.
• Have your title company on standby the day you submit.

A borrower who shows up to Day 1 with a complete file gets funded in 10 days. A borrower who shows up with a rough estimate and verbal contractor quotes adds two weeks minimum.

The Bottom Line

Banks are not built for fix-and-flip. Their timelines, their underwriting criteria, and their product set were designed for a different asset class entirely. Trying to fund a distressed property through a conventional bank is not just slow – it usually does not work at all.

Private capital – through hard money lenders, private bridge lenders, and capital-matching platforms like Slate Financial – was built specifically for this deal type. The underwriting is fast because the collateral is local and the exit is clear. The speed advantage is structural.

If your deal math works, the capital exists to close it in 10 days.

See if your deal qualifies at slatefinancial.io/apply/fix-and-flip. Funding subject to lender approval. No specific terms or outcomes are guaranteed.

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