Qualifying for a hard money loan is going to be based on having a 30% down payment if you are purchasing a home. It will be based on not going over 65% loan to value if you are refinancing a home. You will need very little in the way of paperwork. No income verification is needed and your FICO score won’t matter.    It really all boils down to equity. If you’re putting up 30%, hard money lenders feel that you have enough skin in the game to take the loan seriously. By the same token, 65% loan to value on a refinance allows the hard money lender to stay within their lending comfort zone. Lenders also typically like to know what your exit strategy is. In other words, how do you plan on paying back the lender at the end of your loan term. Most typically the answer is refinancing, selling or paying back the loan from income  through work or other investments.