Hard Money Lenders inKailua-Kona, Hawaii
Fix and flip, DSCR rental and new construction financing for Kailua-Kona investors. We do not lend our own money, we shop your deal across a 400+ lender network and come back with real terms you can compare on total cost.
Prefer to talk it through? Call or text Micah at (281) 636-5682.
Price a Kailua-Kona deal right now
Prefilled with a realistic Kailua-Kona deal. Change any number and it reprices on the programs that lend in Hawaii, with the same math as our term sheets.
Sizing your flip on the same terms as the term sheet. Get a real term sheet →
Financing a deal in Kailua-Kona
Kailua-Kona is the dry, sunny side of the Big Island, built around tourism, resorts, the airport and the coffee farms upslope. A lot of its buyers come from the mainland, and a lot of homes are second homes or vacation rentals. The flip stock is 1970s to 1990s ranches in the hillside subdivisions above town, Kona Palisades, Kona Heights and the Lako area, plus older homes in coffee country around Holualoa and Captain Cook.
The Kona deal is decided by the buyer you are finishing for. A mainland retiree, a local family and a vacation rental investor want different houses at different prices, and the short-term rental rules decide whether that third buyer exists at all. Hawaii County limits vacation rentals by zone, and the state has given counties more power to restrict them, so check what the zoning allows before you count on that exit. Water is the other check: some upslope areas have had limits on new water meters.
What a Kailua-Kona deal looks like on paper
Kailua-Kona example: $600,000 purchase, $110,000 rehab, $960,000 after repair value, 700 credit, first flip. The engine puts that borrower on the Best Rate program at 9.49%. Think a 1980s Kona Palisades ranch, fee simple: new metal roof and solar water heater, a kitchen, two baths, a lanai rebuilt and the yard landscaped for the dry side. Every number below is what the instant term sheet prints for that deal, so the picture cannot contradict the page.
- Down payment (15% of the purchase)You$90,000
- Origination (0.5%)Lender$3,100
- Lender fees (flat)Lender$1,989
- Broker fee (1%)Broker$5,600
- Title and closing (estimate at Texas rates)Title$5,399
- Prepaid interest (15 days)Lender$1,989
- Property insuranceInsurer$6,745
- AppraisalAppraiser$550
Interest while you rehab: $4,033 a month on the $510,000 funded at closing, $4,903 once every draw is out. Proof of funds is cash to close plus $27,500 of rehab reserve and $29,419 of interest reserve. Sample borrower, sample address; the sheet is issued by the same engine as the borrower’s instant term sheet.
Fix and flip programs in Kailua-Kona
Swipe the table for rates, credit and terms →
| Program | Down payment | Min credit | Experience | Rate | Origination | Max loan | Term | Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Rate | 15% of purchase | 700+ | First flip OK | 8.99% to 9.49% | 0.5% | 70% of ARV | 12 months | 5-14 days |
| First Flip, 10% Down1 | 10% of purchase + rehab | 660+ | First flip OK | 9.99% | 2% | 75% of ARV | 12 months | 21-30 days |
| 7.5% Down, 3+ Flips2 | 7.5% of purchase + rehab | 660+ | 3+ completed flips | 9.99% | 1.5% | 75% of ARV | 12 months | 21-30 days |
| 5% Down, 5+ Flips3 | 5% of purchase | 660+ | 5+ completed flips | 9.99% to 10.99% | 2% | 75% of ARV | 9-24 months | 10-14 days |
| 100% Financing, 2+ Flips4 | 0% (100% financing) | 620+ | 2+ completed flips | 9.50% to 12.00% | 2.5% | 70% of ARV | 9 months | 7-14 days |
- Rate 9.99% with 2% to 2.25% origination by credit; more origination buys the rate down as far as 8.99%. Loans under $150,000 add 0.5% to the rate and 0.5% to the origination, under $100,000 1.5% and 1%. Under 680 credit the loan caps at 87.5% of cost. Standard interest, charged only on funds drawn. The loan is capped at a share of purchase plus rehab, the full rehab held back for draws, and the ARV must be at least 1.25 times purchase plus rehab. Processing $500, legal $1,495 and underwriting $795.
- Rate 9.99% with 1.5% to 1.75% origination by credit; more origination buys the rate down as far as 8.99%. Loans under $150,000 add 0.5% to the rate and 0.5% to the origination, under $100,000 1.5% and 1%. Under 680 credit the loan caps at 90% of cost. Standard interest, charged only on funds drawn. The loan is capped at a share of purchase plus rehab, the full rehab held back for draws, and the ARV must be at least 1.25 times purchase plus rehab. Processing $500, legal $1,495 and underwriting $795.
- Rate is set per file from 9.99%; origination about 2% plus a $995 processing fee.
- Needs 2 completed flips in the last two years and about $75,000 in verified liquidity. Rate 9.5% to 12% with 2% to 3% origination, set per file. Purchase plus rehab must fit under 70% of ARV.
Origination has a $2,000 minimum on most programs (a few lenders set a higher one, noted above) and our broker fee is 1% with a $2,000 minimum and a $10,000 maximum. These are the numbers our term sheets use as of October 2026. Strong credit, cash and a track record can price lower through specific lenders in the network.
Where Kailua-Kona prices sit right now
Before we price a Kailua-Kona flip, we look at where sales in the city sit today. Your block can run well above or below these numbers, so treat them as the starting point, not the answer.
Redfin puts the Kailua-Kona median sale price at $820,000 for the three months ending September 2026, up 21.0% from a year earlier, with homes selling after 86 days on the market on average, compared to 102 a year earlier.
| Median sale price, Kailua-Kona (Redfin, 3 months to Sep 2026) | $820,000 |
| Change from a year earlier (Redfin) | +21.0% |
| Average days on market, Kailua-Kona (Redfin) | 86 |
Sources: Redfin, Kailua-Kona housing market
How a Kailua-Kona file actually gets priced
Kona appraisals swing on elevation and view. An ocean view in Kona Heights adds real value, and the same house a few streets lower without it does not get it. We comp by subdivision, view and lot size, keep condos and resort-area homes in their own pile, and look closely at upslope homes on catchment water, which a buyer’s lender may treat differently. Sales are slow enough that the appraiser may reach back several months.
Hualalai and Mauna Loa both sit above Kona, and lava hazard zones vary across the district, so check the zone and price insurance early. Vog from Kilauea drifts over the west side and is something buyers ask about. Most older houses are on cesspools or septic, and state rules require cesspool conversion over the coming decades. Permits go through the County of Hawaii, and review times are long for anything past cosmetic work.
Who buys your finished Kailua-Kona deal
The finished Kona house sells to mainland buyers relocating or buying a second home, many paying cash or with large down payments, plus local families and resort and hospital staff. Days on market run long here, so price your carry for a slow sale. Buyers want a turnkey house with a lanai, views and low maintenance. If the zoning allows it, a rental can be an exit, but price a long-term DSCR rent rather than vacation income.
What happens after you apply
Apply once and the whole Kailua-Kona loan lives in the borrower portal: the term sheet you can accept and sign in the browser, where the loan stands, one place for documents, and the list of what the lender is still waiting on. These are real screens from the portal.




The full walkthrough is on how it works, and you can tour the borrower portal before you apply.
What we fund in Kailua-Kona
Fix and flip
- Rates
- from 8.99% at 760+ credit
- With experience
- 0% down with 2+ completed flips, purchase plus rehab under 70% of ARV
- Rehab
- 100% funded, paid in draws
Rental (DSCR)
- Qualify on
- the rent, no W-2s or tax returns
- Down
- from 20% at 700+ credit
- Good for
- buy-and-hold, and the refinance when a flip becomes a rental
New construction
- Rates
- from 8.49% with 5+ completed builds
- First build
- 85% of cost with a GC who has 5+ builds
- Builds
- single family to small multifamily
Where we lend in Kailua-Kona
We broker deals across the whole Kailua-Kona market. The submarkets investors ask us about most are Kailua Village and Alii Drive (96740), Kona Palisades and Kalaoa (96740), Kona Heights and Lako (96740), Keauhou (96739), Holualoa (96725) and Kealakekua and Captain Cook (96750 / 96704).
How long does a Kailua-Kona loan take to fund?
You send the address, purchase price, rehab budget and your ARV, which takes about five minutes and no credit pull. We take it to the lenders in our network that fit it and are licensed in Hawaii, and the rate, origination, leverage and cash to close come back side by side. 5-14 days to fund. We stay on title and the lender through funding.
Kailua-Kona hard money FAQ
Do you lend hard money in Kailua-Kona?
Which fix and flip programs apply in Kailua-Kona?
How fast can a Kailua-Kona hard money loan close?
How much do I need to bring to close on a Kailua-Kona flip?
Do you fund the rehab budget in Kailua-Kona?
What credit score do I need for a Kailua-Kona fix and flip loan?
Can I refinance a Kailua-Kona flip into a rental loan?
Can I use a hard money loan for a flip in Kona?
Can I plan to sell a Kona flip as a vacation rental?
What to read before you sign a term sheet
- Direct hard money lender vs broker: the honest breakdown
- Points, fees & rate: how to compare hard money lenders
- How construction draws and the rehab holdback actually work
- Dutch vs standard interest: what it really costs you
Hard money near Kailua-Kona: Hilo and Kahului. More Hawaii city guides: Honolulu and Pearl City. Or see everything we fund in Hawaii.
Ready to fund your Kailua-Kona deal?
Submit your scenario in about 5 minutes. We shop it and come back with real terms, not a generic rate sheet.
