Free financing model
Hard money loan cost calculator
Estimate the financing cost of a short-term real-estate loan from the terms you actually have. Separate points, interest on the modeled average balance, fixed lender fees, and exit charges so a low monthly payment cannot hide the cost of the capital.
The short answer
Last updated: July 2026
How much can a hard-money loan cost?
A hard money loan cost model should add origination points, fixed lender charges, interest on the average outstanding balance during the hold, and any exit fee. This calculator keeps those pieces separate, then reports total modeled financing cost and cost as a percentage of the loan. It is a scenario, not a lender quote.
Primary references on this page:
After the estimate:
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See where the financing dollars go.
Model points, simple interest on an average outstanding balance, fixed lender fees, and an exit fee. Verify the actual accrual and fee language in the loan documents.
Loan amount
$
Origination points
%
Fixed lender fees
$
Annual interest rate
%
Holding period
months
Average outstanding
%
Exit fee
$
Input-driven result
Your inputs
Formula
Result below
Modeled financing cost
$20,640
8.6% of entered loan amount
Average monthly interest
$1,680
On $168,000 modeled average balance
Points
$4,800
Modeled interest
$13,440
Fixed lender fees
$2,400
Exit fee
$0
Your calculation
$4,800 points + $13,440 modeled interest + $2,400 fees + $0 exit fee = $20,640
Estimate based on your inputs. Not a promise of results.
Define hard money loans
How it works
How this tool works.
Short-term real-estate financing is easy to misread when the term sheet mixes percentages, dollar fees, staged rehab draws, monthly interest, and exit conditions. Comparing only the note rate ignores points and charges; applying interest to the entire commitment can overstate cost when proceeds are drawn over time.
This worksheet uses your loan amount as the point basis and an average-outstanding percentage as a transparent shortcut for staged draws. It does not infer a draw schedule, extension charge, default rate, inspection fee, minimum interest period, or withheld reserve. Add those items to your underwriting from the actual documents.
Make the result useful
Underwrite the cost path, not just the advertised rate
Points and interest answer different questions. Points are modeled here on the entered loan amount at closing, even if some proceeds are drawn later. Interest is modeled on an average outstanding balance across the hold. Your agreement may instead charge on the commitment, an initial funded amount, daily balances, or a minimum balance, so the term sheet controls the real calculation.
The average-outstanding percentage is deliberately visible because draw timing changes both interest and liquidity. A lower average balance can reduce modeled interest, but it can also mean the borrower must advance rehab cash before reimbursement. Underwriting should therefore pair financing cost with a month-by-month sources-and-uses schedule.
Exit risk deserves its own scenario. A delayed sale or refinance adds interest and may trigger extension fees, while a lower appraisal can reduce replacement-loan proceeds. Run at least the expected hold and a delayed hold, then document the cash needed to reach each exit without relying on an uncommitted refinance.
Calculation lens
Points cost = loan amount x points percent. Modeled interest = loan amount x average outstanding percent x annual rate x holding months / 12. Total financing cost = points + modeled interest + fixed lender fees + exit fee.
The output is a transparent financing-cost scenario and component breakdown. It is not an APR disclosure, approval, payoff statement, lender quote, valuation, or recommendation to borrow.
The model uses simple interest and a single average outstanding balance. It excludes daily accrual conventions, compounding, minimum interest, extension and default terms, draw or inspection charges, unused-line fees, reserves, third-party closing costs, taxes, and project returns unless you explicitly include a known fee.
Questions landlords ask
Questions about this tool and its limits.
Built by a landlord who's done every one of these jobs by hand.
Aptoria was built by an owner-operator managing a Brooklyn portfolio — the 11pm calls, the awkward rent texts, the April receipt-pile — not by a software team guessing at the problem.
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