Steve Waller

I spent 35+ years in commercial finance before I ever wrote a loan on a single-family flip — senior credit and lending roles at Comerica, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank, Group 1 Automotive and Capital Automotive REIT, underwriting corporate credit, dealership real estate and REIT-scale portfolios. In 2026 I took that experience where I think it's worth more: to individual real estate investors. I run ACP Real Estate Lending out of the Houston area, financing investors in Texas and most of the U.S. WHAT WE FINANCE • Fix & flip and BRRRR — purchase plus rehab, single-family through 8 units • Ground-up construction • DSCR / long-term rental — purchase and cash-out refinance • Bridge and short-term • Land • Small commercial THE QUESTION I GET MOST: IS 100% FINANCING REAL? It is, and it isn't for everyone. The top tier funds 100% of purchase and 100% of rehab — no down payment — for borrowers with 720+ credit and ten or more completed flips, at least five in their own state, on loans up to $800,000. The borrower brings closing costs and reserves instead of a down payment. Here is what that looked like on a recent structure, anonymized: purchase $180,000, rehab $114,000, total project cost $294,000, ARV $395,000. Closing costs paid by the borrower were $7,169 — about 2.4% of the project. Total liquidity required was roughly $36,000, and the loan stayed under 75% of ARV. Most investors land in a tier below that, and that is fine. The point is knowing which tier you are in before you are under contract, not after. TWO FREE TOOLS — NO SIGNUP, NO EMAIL Deal Calculator: runs the flip exit and the rental hold off the same set of numbers, so you are comparing like for like. Run it at a 70% ARV advance, then again at 75%, and you will see exactly what the higher tier is worth on your project. DSCR Calculator: gives you two numbers instead of one. Lender DSCR (gross rent divided by PITIA) is what a term sheet gets written against. Conservative DSCR (NOI divided by principal and interest, after vacancy, management and maintenance) is what the property actually does. On a $300,000 property with a $225,000 loan at 7.25%, $2,600 rent, $6,000 taxes and $2,000 insurance, those are 1.18 and 0.92 — and cash flow is negative $127 a month. Both numbers are true. Only one gets you a loan; only one tells you whether to buy it. Both are free at acp-lending.com. HOW I USE BIGGERPOCKETS I answer financing questions in the forums, and I answer them straight. If a deal does not fit our box I will say so, and usually point you at who it does fit. Post your numbers and I will walk through them. Before finance: U.S. Marine Corps, Corporal, 1979–1982. BBA, Amberton University. MBA, University of Phoenix. Based in Spring, Texas, just north of Houston.