Fix & Flip Loans in Fort Myers, FL for Purchase + Rehab Financing

What a Fort Myers flip actually involves

The stock is 1970s–2000s concrete-block single-family on canal and inland lots, with a large inventory of platted-but-unbuilt lots in Lehigh Acres and Cape Coral. Post-storm rehab is the dominant flip type — roofs, impact windows, and flood-line repairs on block homes. Insurability at resale is the exit risk that matters most.

Florida is a judicial foreclosure state with a slow process, and windstorm and flood insurance after Hurricane Ian has become the single most important number in a Southwest Florida DSCR — it can exceed the property tax line. Post-Ian roof age drives insurability; many carriers will not write a roof older than fifteen years. Rotonda West and Englewood sit across the Charlotte County line with different tax and permitting.

Where Fort Myers flips go wrong

Insurability at resale is the exit risk in Fort Myers. A buyer's lender will require coverage; if the roof, windows or elevation make the property hard to insure, the ARV you underwrote may not be the price you clear. Price the insurance-driven improvements into the scope.

Where renovation exceeds purchase price, the loan sizes on total project cost and ARV, not on purchase. Many national lenders cap rehab near half the purchase price and decline the deal on that alone. Several of our sources write it routinely — it is the single most common Fort Myers placement.

Scenarios we place in Fort Myers

Purchase plus rehab in one loan
Sized on total project cost and ARV, whichever binds — in McGregor corridor and Dunbar the ARV cap usually governs; on 1970s–2000s concrete-block single-family on canal and inland lots the cost side does. Rehab sits in a holdback and releases in draws after inspection; you carry the work between them.

Rehab budget larger than purchase price
Routine in Fort Myers. Sized on cost and ARV. The lenders that cap rehab at half of purchase are simply not the ones we place it with.

First flip in Fort Myers
Several sources write first-timers at lower leverage with a licensed GC attached; several require completed projects. A first deal in Edison Park or Cape Coral with a documented scope and a local GC is the profile that places most easily.

Storm-damaged or hard-to-insure property
Post-storm rehab is its own category. Roof, openings and elevation drive both the scope and the exit. Confirm insurability at the projected ARV before you close on the purchase.

Hold instead of sell
Fix-to-rent lets you decide at completion. The DSCR takeout is a second underwrite on rent and appraised value — and in Fort Myers the tenant base around Lee Health is what makes that exit credible. Run it before you buy.

Program terms

Standard ranges across our capital sources: $150,000 to $5M+, up to 95% of total project cost, up to 100% of the rehab budget in draws, 6 to 18 months interest-only, 5 to 10 business days to close with 5-day expedited for experienced investors. Full detail and the current rate floor are on the fix and flip loan page. First-time flippers generally see lower leverage.

Who fits, what disqualifies, what to bring

Who fits
Investors buying a non-owner-occupied property anywhere in the Southwest Florida metro — Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, Bonita Springs, Estero, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Rotonda West and Englewood — to renovate and resell or refinance, with the liquidity to carry work between draws.

What commonly disqualifies in Fort Myers
No line-item scope. No licensed GC on a first project. Liquidity that covers the down payment but not points, third-party costs and carry. An ARV that ignores insurability at resale.

What you will need
Contract, line-item budget by trade, GC bid and license, ARV comparables, proof of liquidity, entity documents.

What happens next
One application. We place the file against sources whose leverage, rehab cap and experience rule fit, and return terms with the draw schedule spelled out.

Where we lend around Fort Myers

The Southwest Florida metro — Fort Myers plus Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, Bonita Springs, Estero, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Rotonda West and Englewood — and the rest of Florida via the Florida fix and flip page. The active rehab corridors in Fort Myers include McGregor corridor, Dunbar, Edison Park, Cape Coral canals, Lehigh Acres.

Size the loan and the cash to close in the ARV calculator, add the carry in the carrying costs calculator, and build the budget in the rehab cost estimator.

Also see: Jacksonville, FL →Miami, FL →

Frequently asked questions

How much cash do I need to flip in Fort Myers? ▼

The gap between the loan and total project cost, plus points, third-party costs and the rehab you carry between draws. The ARV calculator returns it for your numbers.

Do you finance first-time flippers in Florida? ▼

Yes, through sources that write them — lower leverage, licensed GC attached.

My Fort Myers rehab costs more than the house. Is that fundable? ▼

Yes. Sized on total cost and ARV. Lenders capping rehab at half of purchase are why it gets declined elsewhere.

Will the finished property be insurable in Fort Myers? ▼

Only if the scope addresses what carriers price — roof age, openings, elevation. Confirm before you close on the purchase; it is the exit.

How fast can it close? ▼

5 to 10 business days on a complete file; 5-day expedited for experienced investors. A BPO in lieu of appraisal is available on bridge structures.

Can I refinance into a rental loan instead of selling in Fort Myers? ▼

Yes — fix-to-rent. Separate underwrite on rent and appraised value. Run it before you buy.