Fix and Flip Loans in California: What Changes at $800K+ Purchase Prices

A fix-and-flip deal in Bakersfield and the same deal structure in Beverly Hills run on the identical program — up to 90% of cost for an experienced investor doing light rehab, 75% of after-repair value, 620 minimum FICO. But the dollars behind those percentages aren’t close. On a $250,000 purchase in a lower-cost market, the gap between an 85% and a 90% advance is under $15,000. On an $820,000 California purchase, that same five-point gap is $48,000 in cash you either have on hand or don’t. The program doesn’t change in California. The math does, and so do three things underneath it that a borrower comparing quotes from a national lender rarely hears about until the file is already open.

Same Program, Different Numbers

The fix-and-flip terms that apply in California are the same indicative terms that apply anywhere Easy Lending USA’s partners fund: up to 90% loan-to-cost for an experienced investor on a light rehab, 85% for some experience, 80% for a new investor, capped at 75% of after-repair value, whichever is lower. Rehab is released in draws as work is completed and inspected, not handed over at closing. Minimum FICO is 620 for an experienced borrower, 650 for a first-time investor. Loan sizes run $115,000 to $8,000,000, terms 12 to 18 months, and closings are indicative at 7 to 15 days. Every one of those figures is a program range, not an offer on any specific deal — actual terms depend on underwriting.

California simply pushes most deals toward the upper half of that loan-size range, which means the percentage-point differences between experience tiers show up as much larger cash requirements than the same tiers would in a market where a flip purchase price is a third as much.

The Licensing Layer Behind the Loan

California requires a license to originate or arrange a business-purpose loan secured by California real property — the California Finance Lenders Law (CFLL), administered by the state’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). Easy Lending USA is a referral source, not a lender and not a broker. On California property, the loan is originated under our licensed lending partner’s CFLL license; Easy Lending USA does not hold, fund, or service the loan. That distinction isn’t paperwork trivia — it’s who you’re actually borrowing from, and it’s worth confirming with any company quoting you California fix-and-flip terms.

The Arithmetic: What an 85% vs. 90% Tier Costs You in Cash

Take a purchase at $820,000 with a $140,000 light-rehab budget (cosmetic finishes, a kitchen and two baths, no structural or permit-heavy work) and a projected after-repair value of $1,250,000. Total project cost is $960,000.

The 75% ARV cap isn’t the binding constraint on this deal — the LTC advance is lower in every tier, so LTC decides the loan amount. The experience tier you qualify for is what moves $96,000 of cash out of your pocket on this one deal. Run the identical three tiers on a $250,000 purchase with a $45,000 rehab and the spread between 90% and 80% is about $29,500 total — real money, but nowhere near the $96,000 swing a California-scale deal produces off the same percentages.

Points Cost More in Dollars at California Loan Sizes

Short-term rates on these programs run from roughly 10.25%, indicative and subject to underwriting. Two origination points on an $864,000 loan is $17,280. The same two points on a $200,000 loan is $4,000. A borrower deciding whether to pay a point for a lower rate is making a much bigger single decision in California simply because the loan is bigger — work the breakeven math on the actual loan amount, not a rule of thumb from a smaller deal.

Wildfire Risk and the Insurance Problem That Shows Up Late

A chunk of California property sits inside a CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone — parts of the Sierra foothills, Wine Country, the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains, and wildland-urban interface pockets throughout Southern California. In the higher-severity zones, standard carriers have pulled back, and the California FAIR Plan — the state’s insurer of last resort — is sometimes the only coverage available, at a higher premium and with narrower coverage than a standard policy. A lender won’t clear a file to close without proof the property can be insured, and a flip that can only get FAIR Plan coverage is also a flip a retail buyer’s lender may balk at insuring at resale. Check the zone before you’re under contract, not after you’ve paid for an appraisal.

Recording Timelines: Why the 7–15 Day Window Can Slip

The 7-to-15-day close quoted for this program is a national average, and it assumes title and recording move at a normal pace. High-volume county recorders — Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Alameda — routinely run behind lower-volume counties elsewhere, and a property with a trustee sale, probate, or multiple prior transfers in its chain of title can add days a tighter purchase contract doesn’t have room for. If your purchase agreement has a short close contingency, confirm the specific county’s current recording turnaround with title before you assume the indicative close window applies to your deal.

When This Is the Wrong Call

If the deal only works at the 90% tier and you don’t yet have the three completed deals most lenders count as “experienced,” the 80% new-investor tier’s cash requirement may make the deal unworkable — a lower-cost market or a smaller first deal is usually the better move than forcing a California price point on a first flip. If the property sits in a FAIR-Plan-only wildfire zone, run the insurance cost into your margin before you make an offer, not after. And if your contract’s close date assumes the fast end of the 7-to-15-day window in a high-volume county, get title’s actual current turnaround in writing before you’re committed to a date you can’t hit.

The California fix-and-flip program itself is listed on the fix-and-flip loan program page, current indicative pricing is on the rates page, and a specific deal can be sized against these tiers by submitting it through the deal submission form.