Real Estate · Colorado Springs, CO

Hard Money & Real Estate Investor Loans in Colorado Springs, CO

Investors who search for hard money lenders in Colorado Springs are usually financing a fix-and-flip or a buy-to-rent, and many plan to list the finished property on Airbnb or VRBO before refinancing or selling. The City of Colorado Springs requires its own Short Term Rental permit before any property is advertised on a hosting platform: a $124.95 permit fee due with the application, proof of at least $500,000 in liability insurance, a 24-hour emergency contact able to respond within an hour, and a signed affidavit in either an owner-occupied or a non-owner-occupied version. City staff have 10 business days to review a completed application, and the permit is valid for one year with no grace period for a lapsed renewal. Nowbiz compares short-term bridge, fix-and-flip and rehab loan offers from its lending partners for Colorado Springs investors; it is a team of funding specialists, not a lender, and the permit decision runs on its own track from the financing.

Check business eligibility

Funding specialists, not a lender. No approval guarantee.

Updated October 30, 2026

Decision guide

Hard money lenders in Colorado Springs: a short-term rental permit costs $124.95

A good fit when

  • A short-term bridge or hard money loan sized to close before a seller's deadline.
  • A rehab-draw loan tied to the renovation budget, run alongside the permit application.
  • Financing that closes whether the Short Term Rental permit is approved yet or not.
  • A rate quote compared against the permit fee and insurance cost, not just the loan terms.

Look elsewhere when

  • Assuming a rental listing can go live before the permit is approved.
  • A merchant cash advance sized for a retail business, not a single rental unit.
  • Treating the non-owner-occupied affidavit as optional for an investment property.
  • Letting the one-year permit lapse without a renewal already filed.
Hypothetical: a $300,000 Colorado Springs bridge loan plus the city's STR permit (USD)
ItemFigure
Interest-only payment on a $300,000 bridge loan at 11% APR$2,750.00/month
Origination points at 2% of the $300,000 loan$6,000.00
Colorado Springs Short Term Rental permit fee$124.95

Illustrative only, not an offer. The permit fee and insurance minimum are set by the city, not by Nowbiz or its lending partners.

Two affidavit paths

The application calls for a signed Short Term Rental affidavit in either an owner-occupied or a non-owner-occupied version, each notarized before submission.

Get every cost in writing

Colorado has no commercial-financing disclosure law like California’s or New York’s. Ask for the total repaid, fees, schedule and an annualized cost.

Official sources (checked October 22, 2026): City of Colorado Springs: Short Term Rentals.

What a funding specialist adds. Nowbiz compares short-term bridge and rehab loan offers for Colorado Springs investors independent of the city's permit timeline. The lending partner sets eligibility and terms.

Prepare

Documents that settle the decision

  • Purchase contract or assignment
  • Scope of work and rehab budget
  • Proof of funds for the down payment
  • Two years of tax returns
  • A current credit report
$25K–$1MPublished range
$50,000 – $2,000,000Typical request
Provider-dependent; confirm availability of fundsBusiness term loan timing
Soft pullInitial inquiry

Colorado Springs, CO

How Colorado Springs shapes the decision.

Colorado Springs is Colorado’s second-largest city, with an economy built around five military installations, aerospace and defense contractors, a large nonprofit and religious-organisation sector, and tourism to Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods.

Rents are lower than Denver and Colorado’s minimum wage applies statewide, but military deployment cycles and defense-contract timing create demand swings. Seen from inside a real-estate business, for a real-estate business the local property market is the business itself — rent levels, vacancy and transaction volume set both revenue and the cost of any office space.

Sunny but with cold winters and heavy spring snows; summer tourism and military pay cycles set the busiest periods. The lesson for a Colorado Springs real-estate business is that a real-estate business should expect the spring and summer transaction peak and the winter slowdown to show up in commissions and turnover costs, and should size payments against the winter months.

Colorado Springs is anchored by Fort Carson, Peterson and Schriever Space Force Bases, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, UCHealth Memorial and Penrose-St. Francis hospitals, and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. For a real-estate business, they drive the housing and commercial demand — employees relocating, students renting, businesses leasing — that a brokerage, property manager or small investor depends on.

The addresses that matter are Tejon Street and downtown, Old Colorado City’s Colorado Avenue, Manitou Avenue, North Academy Boulevard, Powers Boulevard, the Broadmoor area, and the Garden of the Gods Road business parks. Transaction and leasing activity concentrates around these districts, and a brokerage or management company positioned near them captures both residential and commercial work.

The people and businesses paying the invoices are military families and veterans, defense and aerospace employees, tourists, and a large residential base spread across the Pikes Peak region. For a real-estate business, that mix determines whether revenue comes from sales commissions, management fees or rental income, each of which is underwritten differently.

How Colorado Springs compares with nearby Colorado markets

Colorado Springs is not Colorado in miniature, and a real-estate business weighing a second location or comparing notes with peers should read the neighboring markets on their own terms.

Lakewood is a large suburb immediately west of Denver, with a federal centre, a redeveloped downtown at Belmar, established neighborhoods and a location at the gateway to the foothills. Rents are lower than Denver proper and the state minimum wage applies rather than Denver’s higher local rate, which draws businesses to the west side of Sheridan Boulevard. Sunny and dry with cold winters; outdoor and foothills recreation traffic peaks in summer, and the holiday season drives Belmar and Colorado Mills retail.

Denver is the capital and economic centre of the Rocky Mountain region, with a diversified economy in energy, aerospace, healthcare, technology, finance and tourism, a booming downtown and dozens of walkable neighborhoods. Rents are high and rising, and Denver sets its own local minimum wage well above the state rate and adjusts it annually, so payroll is the biggest planning variable for storefront businesses. Dry and sunny with cold snaps and occasional heavy snow; the ski-season tourism pipeline, summer festivals and conventions and the holidays shape demand.

Set against both, rents are lower than Denver and Colorado’s minimum wage applies statewide, but military deployment cycles and defense-contract timing create demand swings.

Nearby Colorado markets for a real-estate business
MarketAnchor employers and institutionsCustomer base
Lakewood, COThe Denver Federal Center, St. Anthony Hospital, Colorado Christian University and Red Rocks Community College, the Belmar downtown district, and the Colorado Mills and West Colfax commercial areas.Federal and healthcare employees, established suburban households, students, and Denver residents drawn to the west-side retail districts.
Denver, COState government, the downtown financial and energy offices, Denver Health and the major hospital systems, the University of Denver, Metropolitan State University, Denver International Airport, and the SBA’s Colorado District Office.A young, growing professional population, government and healthcare employees, tourists and convention visitors, and business-to-business buyers across the Front Range.
Colorado Springs, CO at a glance for a real-estate business
FactorLocal detail
Anchor employers and institutionsFort Carson, Peterson and Schriever Space Force Bases, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S.
Commercial corridorsTejon Street and downtown, Old Colorado City’s Colorado Avenue, Manitou Avenue, North Academy Boulevard, Powers Boulevard, the Broadmoor area, and the Garden of the Gods Road business parks.
Customer baseMilitary families and veterans, defense and aerospace employees, tourists, and a large residential base spread across the Pikes Peak region.
State disclosure rulesNo state commercial-financing disclosure law; ask for total cost and an annualized rate in writing
State minimum wage$15.16 an hour statewide, adjusted each year; Denver and some other localities set higher minimums
SBA district officeColorado: 721 19th St., Suite 426, Denver, CO 80202

Minimum wage, SBA office and disclosure details checked October 15, 2026 against official sources: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment: 2026 pay calculation order (minimum wage $15.16), SBA Colorado District Office. Local minimum wages can be higher; confirm current rules before relying on them.

  • Colorado commercial financing disclosuresColorado does not have a commercial financing disclosure statute comparable to California’s or New York’s, so it is on the borrower to ask every provider for the total dollar cost, an annualized rate and the exact payment schedule in writing before comparing offers.
  • SBA and free counselling in ColoradoThe SBA’s Colorado District Office in Denver serves the whole state, supported by SCORE chapters along the Front Range and a network of Small Business Development Centers hosted by colleges and chambers of commerce.
  • Also worth knowingColorado also requires paid sick leave under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act and runs a state paid family and medical leave program funded by payroll premiums.

Local numbers

Real Estate businesses in and around Colorado Springs, in figures

The Census Bureau counted 1,506 real-estate business locations (landlords, brokers and property managers) with paid employees in El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs, in its 2023 County Business Patterns. That is 8.0% of the county's 18,852 employer locations, compared with 7.2% across Colorado. 96% had fewer than 10 employees. They employed 3,588 people, with average annual payroll of $56,000 per employee.

In the SBA's 2026 fiscal year (October 2025 through September 2026), 42 lenders approved 189 SBA 7(a) loans totaling $75.4 million for businesses in El Paso County, an average of $399,000 per loan. By number of loans, the most active were Newtek Bank, National Association (30 loans); Integrity Bank & Trust (26 loans) and U.S. Bank, National Association (18 loans). Certified development companies approved 26 SBA 504 loans totaling $31.3 million for real-estate and equipment projects there; the most active was B:Side Capital.

How to use these numbers: they describe the local market, not your odds. SBA figures count only loans the SBA guarantees, and a real-estate business is approved on its own revenue, credit and cash flow. A lender that is already active in the county is a reasonable place to ask about SBA options before comparing faster, costlier products.

El Paso County: official figures
MeasureEl Paso County
Real-estate business locations (landlords, brokers and property managers) with employees (2023)1,506
Share of all employer locations: county vs Colorado8.0% vs 7.2%
Share with fewer than 10 employees96%
SBA 7(a) loans approved, FY2026189 ($75.4 million)
Lenders making SBA 7(a) loans here, FY202642
SBA 504 loans approved, FY202626 ($31.3 million)

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) Lender and 504 CDC Activity Reports, FY2026 (data as of September 30, 2026, by project county). County figures include the whole county, not only Colorado Springs.

Real Estate essentials

What matters most for a real-estate business in Colorado Springs.

Real-estate businesses come in three shapes with three cash flows: brokerages earn commissions at closing after months of work, property managers earn steady fees but front turnover and repair costs, and small investors collect rent while funding renovations and vacancies. A real-estate business in Colorado Springs usually fits one of these, and the financing that fits follows from which one. What they share is timing risk: expenses arrive on a schedule and revenue arrives when deals close, tenants pay or units re-let.

The full Real Estate business loans guide covers the rest in depth: how each product fits, what lenders check, the documents that settle a decision, typical timelines and the mistakes that cost owners money.

  • Lender viewRental income is underwritten conservatively; brokerages lean on line of credit products.
  • Margins and cash patternCommission and rental timing
  • SeasonalitySpring and summer transaction peaks

Products that fit

Three or four structures, not thirty.

These four structures cover almost every real estate request in Colorado. Ranges are market guidelines, not offers; the notes explain the fit for a real-estate business.

Product comparison guidance for a real-estate business in Colorado Springs
ProductTime to fundEligibility reviewAmount to discussPricing structure
Business term loanProvider-dependent; confirm availability of fundsOperating-history requirements vary by provider; Ask which personal and business credit checks applyProvider-specific; size to repayment capacityQuoted interest and fees; compare net proceeds and total repayment

How each structure fits a real-estate business, with worked comparisons, is covered in the Real Estate business loans guide.

Worked example

What $88,500 looks like for a real-estate business.

A rate on its own says little. The estimator prices the best-fit product across its published range at a realistic Colorado Springs amount, and the table beneath puts two alternatives beside it at the same figure.

Payment estimator

Estimate a business term loan payment

A term loan at a typical renovation-and-turnover program amount for a Colorado Springs real-estate business across the published APR range; a line of credit and a working capital loan are compared beneath at the same amount. Illustrative term-loan figures for a typical Colorado Springs real-estate business program, with line-of-credit and working-capital alternatives compared below at the same amount. A typical renovation-and-turnover program for a Colorado Springs real-estate business priced as a term loan across the published APR range, with a line of credit and a working capital loan compared beneath.

$3,589 per month and $129,216 in total payback (26.5% assumed annual interest; 36 months; fees excluded).

Hypothetical figures using the stated term or collection period. Fees are excluded. Revenue-based amounts are averages over an assumed period, not fixed payments.

Business term loan: $88,500 at hypothetical scenario inputs
ScenarioEstimated paymentTotal payback / customer settlementBasis
Lower scenario input$2,773 / month$99,8388.0% assumed annual interest; 36 months; fees excluded
Midpoint$3,589 / month$129,21626.5% assumed annual interest; 36 months; fees excluded
Higher scenario input$4,520 / month$162,71145.0% assumed annual interest; 36 months; fees excluded
Same $88,500 under three structures (midpoint of published ranges)
StructureEstimated paymentScheduleTotal payback / customer settlementBasis
Business line of credit$8,847 per month12 months$106,16135.0% assumed annual interest; 12 months; fees excluded
Working capital loan$8,957 per month12 months$107,48837.5% assumed annual interest; 12 months; fees excluded

Estimates use the midpoint of published market ranges and standard term assumptions; they are illustrations, not offers. Actual pricing, term and payment frequency are set by the funding partner after underwriting. Compare offers on total payback and payment fit, and in Colorado ask for the same disclosures California and New York require.

Secure eligibility check

Fast Funding Review

Begin with the business basics for your real-estate business in Colorado Springs, CO. The first step is a soft-pull, no-obligation review; sensitive documents are only ever requested later through a private link.

  • No hard credit pull to apply
  • Review and funding times vary by provider
  • 5+ years in the industry
  • Encrypted, private document handling

Prepare the file

Documents that help explain the request.

Requirements vary by product and funding partner, and sensitive records are only ever requested through the protected application link, never through this page. For a real-estate business in Colorado Springs the file usually includes:

  • Recent business bank statements
  • Property or transaction summary
  • Rent roll or commission history when relevant
  • Project budget and existing obligations
  • Commission statements or management fee history for two to three years
  • Rent rolls and leases for owned or managed units

Real Estate questions

Questions Colorado Springs real-estate business owners ask.

What financing fits a real-estate brokerage in Colorado Springs?

A line of credit for commission timing and marketing, and a term loan for technology, recruiting or acquiring another office; underwriting averages commission income over several years.

Can a property management company borrow for turnover and repairs?

Yes — a line of credit sized to the portfolio covers turnover and repair costs ahead of owner reimbursement, and a term loan funds systems and staff to add doors.

Can I use business financing to buy an investment property?

Business financing is for the operation, not acquisitions. Investment properties are financed through mortgages; SBA can fund an office the business itself occupies.

General questions about credit checks, documents and how Now Biz Fund works are answered on the About page.

A note on what this page is: a funding specialist’s guide, not a lender’s offer. Now Biz Fund matches requests with funding partners; the partners underwrite and decide. Ranges are published market guidelines. Questions before applying? Call +1 (929) 744-5992 or start the no-obligation review.

Call nowCheck eligibility