what are the risks of a hard money loan 
hard money lenders typically charge a higher interest rate because they re assuming more risk than a traditional lender would they may require a higher down payment than a traditional loan would and you ll have a shorter period to pay back the loan the bottom linehard money loans are typically used by real estate investors developers and flippers they can be arranged much more quickly than a loan through a traditional bank and loan terms are generally short six to 18 months hard money loans may be sought by investors who plan to renovate and resell the real estate that is used as collateral for the financing the higher cost of a hard money loan is offset by the fact that the borrower intends to pay off the loan relatively quickly 