Lafayette and West Lafayette share Tippecanoe County but operate as two investor lanes — downtown Lafayette pre-war doubles at $78K–$128K as-is versus Purdue-adjacent stock at higher basis with $1,200–$1,650/mo rents.
Hard money lenders in Lafayette fund Tippecanoe County value-add: vacant doubles with failing mechanicals, Subaru and Caterpillar supply-chain rental demand, and estate sales where conventional lag loses the contract.
Tippecanoe County investor profile
Lafayette volume is BRRRR-first, flip-second:
- Downtown double — buy $92K–$122K, rehab $44K–$58K, ARV $168K–$198K
- Bungalow flip — buy $78K–$108K, rehab $30K–$44K, resale $148K–$178K
- West Lafayette hold — higher basis, DSCR refi on $1,350–$1,550/mo rents
Purdue employment creates 2–4 year tenant cycles on campus-adjacent blocks — model vacancy honestly.
Programs in the Lafayette metro
| Program | Use case |
|---|---|
| Hard money | Acquisition + rehab bridge |
| Fix and flip | Bungalow and double resale |
| DSCR | Permanent debt after lease-up |
Compare West Lafayette spoke · Indianapolis · Statewide Indiana hard money.
Loan terms (2026)
| Parameter | Range |
|---|---|
| Rates | 8.99%–13.5% IO |
| LTC | Up to 90% |
| Close | 7–10 business days |
| Term | 6–12 months for fix-and-flip; 12–24 months for bridge holds |
Lafayette vs. West Lafayette
| Factor | Lafayette (downtown) | West Lafayette |
|---|---|---|
| As-is basis | $78K–$128K | $145K–$220K |
| Rent (2BR) | $1,050–$1,350/mo | $1,200–$1,650/mo |
| Stock | Pre-war doubles | Mix — campus adjacency |
| Flip spread | Moderate | Thin |
| BRRRR fit | Strong | Hold-focused |
Worked example: downtown Lafayette double BRRRR
Buy: $108,000 side-by-side — one vacant, 1932 build, shared boiler. Rehab: $54,000 — separate HVAC, panels, kitchens/baths both sides. Hard money: 87% LTC → $140,940 funded. Stabilize: $1,225/side ($2,450 gross). Appraisal: $188,000. DSCR refi at 73% LTV → DSCR ~1.18. Refi gap: 73% of $188,000 is $137,240, about $3,700 below the $140,940 bridge. Bring that gap to closing, or size up toward the 80% cash-out ceiling ($150,400) if the rent still covers the larger payment.
Worked example: Columbian Park bungalow flip
Buy: $94,000 3/2 — estate sale, dated kitchen, functional HVAC. Rehab: $34,000 — kitchen, bath, LVP, paint. Total: $128,000 Hard money: 88% LTC = $112,640 Timeline: Close 7 business days; 4-month rehab and resale. Sale: $162,000 — 8% costs ($12,960), $6,200 carry → net ~$14,800 spread.
Purdue employment corridor
Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Caterpillar, and Purdue University create renters who:
- Stay 2–4 years on campus-adjacent units
- Pay $1,200–$1,550 on renovated 2-bed near campus
- Prefer West Lafayette walkability over downtown Lafayette basis
Hard money on West Lafayette targets hold exits; downtown Lafayette targets BRRRR math.
Lafayette housing data: a renter-majority city with old stock
Lafayette proper is one of the few Indiana cities where renters outnumber owners. These American Community Survey 2020–2024 five-year estimates come from the Census Bureau’s DP04 housing profile for Lafayette. They cover the City of Lafayette only, not West Lafayette.
| Metric (ACS 2020–2024) | Lafayette city |
|---|---|
| Occupied homes | 32,242 |
| Share rented | 53.3% |
| Median owner-occupied value | $172,800 |
| Median gross rent | $1,079/mo |
| Median year built | 1971 |
| Built before 1980 | 58.7% |
| Built in 1939 or earlier | 17.6% |
| Rental vacancy rate | 4.2% (±1.3 points) |
Two numbers stand out. The citywide median rent of $1,079 is a hard ceiling check for downtown doubles. A pro forma at $1,225 per side assumes a renovated unit beats the median by about 14%, which is reasonable for new systems but not for a paint job. And with 17.6% of homes built before 1940, shared boilers and knob-and-tube wiring are not edge cases.
Values have climbed fast. The FHFA all-transactions index for the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro rose 4.1% from Q2 2025 to Q2 2026 and 50.9% over five years, per FRED series ATNHPIUS29200Q. That five-year run is why older ARV comps understate today’s values. It also means some sellers still anchor to 2025 pricing.
2026 demand drivers: Purdue growth and the SK hynix plant
Purdue enrollment is still rising. Purdue’s fall 2026 freshman class grew 13% over fall 2025 to 10,818 students, with 10,173 in West Lafayette, per Purdue’s September 2026 enrollment release. Main-campus undergraduate enrollment reached 43,417, and graduate enrollment hit a record 13,344.
The same release notes new campus supply. South Hall opened in August 2026, and the 3rd & West apartments opened in August 2025. Together they added 1,900 beds to university housing. That is direct competition for older campus-adjacent rentals. Renovated units with in-unit laundry and parking will hold rent better than dated rooms near campus.
SK hynix broke ground in August 2026. The company held a ceremonial groundbreaking on August 27, 2026 for its advanced packaging plant in the Purdue Research Park, per Purdue’s announcement. The project is described as an over $4 billion investment. The plant is expected to support about 1,000 employees once production begins.
For a hard money borrower, that is a long-term demand signal, not a reason to stretch today’s rents. Construction crews and engineers may want furnished or short-term housing before production starts. Underwrite a 12-month lease at current rents and treat any SK hynix premium as upside.
Local rental rules in Tippecanoe County
Lafayette short-term rentals. City Ordinance 2017-27 regulates short-term rentals. A later ordinance set a $100 application fee for a transient rental registration permit, per the City of Lafayette FAQ. Get that permit before listing a unit for game weekends or graduation.
West Lafayette inspections. West Lafayette runs a rental housing inspection program through its Building Department. Owners file a property owner registration and an occupancy affidavit, per the city’s rental housing page. Budget time for inspection before the first lease on a campus-side purchase.
Property tax cap. Indiana’s circuit breaker caps non-homestead residential property at 2% of gross assessed value, versus 1% for an owner’s homestead, per the DLGF fact sheet. On the $188,000 downtown double, that ceiling is $3,760 a year. Use it as the worst case in your refi coverage math.
For eviction and deposit rules after lease-up, see our Indiana landlord-tenant law guide. For timing the move from bridge to permanent debt, read Indiana hard money vs. DSCR: when to switch.
Diligence on Tippecanoe County stock
- Shared boilers — common on pre-war doubles; budget $8K–$14K separation
- Knob-and-tube — electrical upgrades on 1920s–1940s inventory
- Flood — check Wabash River adjacency on low-lying blocks
- Property taxes — Tippecanoe County assessor
- Insurance — model $1,200–$1,700/yr on $175K dwelling
Neighborhood spokes
West Lafayette files carry the extra step of the city’s rental inspection program and compete more directly with Purdue’s new beds. Downtown Lafayette files skip both but need heavier systems work. Choose the side of the river that matches your rehab crew and your exit, then comp only within it.
Battle Ground and Westfield adjacency
Tippecanoe County line communities offer $105K–$145K buys with $32K–$45K rehabs — rural-urban mix with $1,100–$1,300/mo rents. Comp discipline stays ZIP-specific.
When Lafayette beats Indianapolis
- Sponsor wants Purdue employment anchor without Marion County basis
- Pre-war double BRRRR at 7%–9% gross caps
- Lower competition on Tippecanoe County duplex conversions
When you need Near Eastside velocity and institutional landlord competition — Indianapolis hub.
The Census figures make the basis gap concrete. Lafayette’s median owner-occupied value of $172,800 sits about $52,000 below the $224,800 median in Indianapolis city (balance), per the Census Bureau’s Indianapolis DP04 profile for the same 2020–2024 period. Median rent is lower too, at $1,079 versus $1,156. Lafayette’s advantage is entry price, not rent, so the deal has to be bought right.
Downtown Lafayette BRRRR sequencing
Successful Tippecanoe County sponsors run a repeatable acquire → rehab → lease → refi loop:
- Acquire on hard money Indiana at 8.99%–13.5% IO with a 7–10 business day close on estate and auction inventory.
- Separate utilities on pre-war doubles before marketing — shared boiler doubles fail appraisal when only one side is renovated.
- Lease both sides at $1,100–$1,325/mo with 12-month terms; document in property management software for DSCR underwriting.
- Refi into DSCR at 70%–75% LTV when appraisal supports $175K–$195K on renovated doubles.
- Extract equity for the next downtown Lafayette file or West Lafayette hold near campus.
Hard money term should cover 5–7 months minimum — mechanical-heavy doubles on Main Street corridor often need 6-month rehab when panel and plumbing stack sequentially.
Pre-close diligence checklist
- Three Tippecanoe County ARV comps within 0.5 miles, post-rehab condition only
- Title commitment clear of tax sale defects and open code liens
- Scope of work with GC contract or itemized bid before LTC approval
- Insurance quote at $1,200–$1,700/yr on projected $175K dwelling value
- DSCR calculator output showing 1.10+ at 72% LTV on achieved rent roll
- City confirmed from the tax bill — Lafayette and West Lafayette run different rental and permit programs
- Property tax modeled at the 2% non-homestead cap on projected post-rehab value, not the seller’s homestead bill
- Transient rental permit in hand before any game-weekend or graduation listing
- Rent comps that reflect Purdue’s 1,900 new campus beds if the property is campus-adjacent
Tippecanoe County doubles on Main Street and Columbia Street corridors reward sponsors who budget utility separation in the initial scope — retrofitting after lease-up costs $8K–$14K more than separating at acquisition.
FAQ
Do you fund Purdue student housing?
Hard money funds acquisition and rehab — DSCR exit requires 12-month lease documentation on standard programs.
Shared utility doubles?
Common in downtown Lafayette — budget separation in scope before LTC commitment.
100% rehab?
Available on qualified files with experienced sponsor and documented scope.
Tippecanoe County auction inventory
Lafayette HUD and county auction channels reward hard money proof of funds — conventional buyers cannot remove inspection contingencies fast enough. Underwrite $6K–$10K contingency on unseen mechanicals; ARV comp set must reflect post-rehab condition only on Tippecanoe County sales.
Lafayette portfolio math
Three $190K ARV doubles at $2,400 gross rent each stack cash-on-cash that Hamilton County cannot match on identical capital — Lafayette hard money enables parallel BRRRR when DSCR extracts equity every 10–12 months.
See West Lafayette spoke, Fort Wayne metro, and fix and flip Indiana.
Pre-Qualify for Lafayette Hard Money · Indianapolis hard money · (833) 264-7776
Lafayette — Tippecanoe vs Marion comp radius (2026)
Lafayette files fail when Indianapolis Near Eastside ARV prices Tippecanoe duplex at $108K–$125K basis — Purdue-student rent seasonality affects summer vacancy assumptions. Shared boiler on 1930s side-by-side — scope before draw.
Purdue employment supports 12-month lease stability on renovated stock. Bridge 8.99%–13.5% IO · Indiana DSCR · (833) 264-7776.
Underwriting anchor: Buy: $108,000 side-by-side — one vacant, 1932 build, shared boiler. — refresh sold comps, tax reassessment, and insurance on this parcel before IO term.