Hard Money Loans in Tennessee

The Tennessee picture

Tennessee has no state income tax, sustained corporate relocation into Middle Tennessee, and a housing supply that has not caught up with a decade of in-migration. The result is a market where building is often a better play than buying, and where the investors we fund here skew more heavily toward ground-up construction than in any other state we lend in.

The state divides cleanly into four markets. Nashville and Middle Tennessee is the growth engine — expensive by regional standards, intensely competitive, and dominated by infill teardowns and new builds in the ring counties. Memphis is the opposite: one of the deepest and most affordable single-family rental markets in the country, where the arithmetic favors buy-and-hold. Knoxville is a stable university and healthcare market with dependable rental demand and reasonable entry prices. Chattanooga is smaller, with a revitalized urban core and steady value-add opportunity.

Where we lend in Tennessee

Middle Tennessee: Nashville and Davidson County, Franklin, Brentwood, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne, Hendersonville, Gallatin, Mount Juliet, Lebanon, Spring Hill, Columbia, Dickson, and Clarksville.

West Tennessee: Memphis and Shelby County, Bartlett, Germantown, Collierville, Cordova, Millington, and Jackson.

East Tennessee: Knoxville and Knox County, Maryville, Alcoa, Oak Ridge, Farragut, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol.

Southeast: Chattanooga and Hamilton County, East Ridge, Red Bank, Soddy-Daisy, and Cleveland.

Construction is the defining product here

In Middle Tennessee particularly, the dominant investor play is acquiring a teardown or an infill lot and building new. Our New Construction program funds up to 85% of total cost — land basis, hard costs, and eligible soft costs — with draws tied to defined completion milestones rather than a percentage estimate.

The reason we lead with the draw schedule on this page rather than the rate is that in a labor-constrained market, a late draw is far more expensive than a point of interest. When funding slips, subcontractors leave for another site, and getting a framing or mechanical crew back can cost two or three weeks in a Nashville market where good crews are booked out. That delay costs more than the entire rate differential between one lender and another.

If you already own the lot, that equity typically counts toward your borrower contribution — which is frequently what moves a Middle Tennessee builder to maximum leverage.

A Tennessee borrower

I've worked with a lot of hard money lenders over the years. Southern Ground Capital is different — they actually understand construction draws and timelines. The draw process was smooth, communication was excellent, and they funded every draw on schedule.

— David K., Nashville, TN · New Construction

Which programs Tennessee investors use most

New Construction — up to 85% LTC, 6–18 month terms, draws on schedule. Concentrated in the Nashville ring counties and the Knoxville and Chattanooga growth corridors.

Fix & Flip — up to 90% LTC with rehab financed, min FICO 660. Strongest in Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and the Middle Tennessee markets outside the Nashville core, where acquisition margins still support a full renovation.

DSCR — Memphis is one of the strongest DSCR markets in the country on pure rent-to-price arithmetic, and Knoxville and Chattanooga are close behind. Up to 80% LTV, from 5.75%, no income documentation.

Bridge and Multi-Family round out the mix, with small multi-family value-add active in Memphis and Chattanooga.