A hard-money loan is short-term financing secured primarily by the property itself, made by private individuals or funds rather than banks. The lender cares more about the asset's value, and its after-repair value on a rehab, than about your income or credit score, so approval is fast. In exchange you pay materially higher interest rates and fees, and the terms are short, often six to twenty-four months.
Investors use hard money for speed and flexibility: buying at auction, funding a flip, or acquiring a property too distressed for a conventional loan, then refinancing into cheaper long-term financing once it is stabilized. The high cost makes it a bridge, not a home, and the plan is always to get out of it. It is a common first step in a BRRRR strategy (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat).