Bridge Loans

Bridge Financing for Residential and Commercial Property

A bridge loan is a bet on your exit. The terms matter less than whether the exit shows up on time.

Loans from $500K · Residential investment and commercial · Veteran-owned

Where bridge deals break

Here’s how it usually goes. An 18-month bridge on an office building that’s 40 percent leased. The plan is to lease up and refinance into permanent debt by month 15. Leasing runs slow. At month 15 the building is 70 percent leased, and the permanent lender sizes the loan on what’s there, not what’s coming. The bridge is due, the refinance comes in short, and the extension costs a point.

None of that is bad luck. The lease-up schedule was the plan, and nobody tested it.

When bridge capital is the right tool

  • You need to close before permanent financing can. A seller who won’t wait, or a property a long-term lender won’t touch yet.
  • The property isn’t stabilized. Vacancy, below-market rents, or deferred maintenance keep it from qualifying for permanent debt today.
  • You’re buying the next deal before selling or refinancing the last one.
  • The upside is in the business plan, not a heavy rehab. If the deal is mainly a renovation, see fix and flip. [Link: /fix-flip-loans/]

What it costs you

A higher rate than permanent debt, origination points, and usually exit or extension fees. Many bridge loans are interest-only, which helps cash flow but pays down nothing. Some lenders hold back part of the loan for improvements or interest reserves, so the cash you see at closing is less than the loan amount.

The biggest cost is the extension. If you need one, you’ll be negotiating from the weakest position you’ll ever have with that lender.

The decisions I structure

  • The exit. A refinance or a sale, tested against conservative rents, occupancy, and a higher rate than today’s. DSCR Loans
  • Term and extensions. Long enough for the plan to run late, with extension terms set now, not when you need them.
  • Reserves. Interest and capital reserves sized to the real timeline.
  • Leverage. More proceeds today, weighed against a refinance that can actually pay it off.
  • Prepayment. Whether you can exit early without a penalty if the plan runs ahead.

The pattern I see most

Operators pick the term that matches the plan. Then the plan runs six months long. Paying a little more for a longer term or a pre-set extension is almost always cheaper than an extension you have to ask for.

Who this is for

  • Investors buying or repositioning residential investment property, multifamily, or commercial property (office, retail, mixed-use)
  • Operators who have executed this kind of business plan before
  • Loan amounts of $500K and up
  • Properties in most of the U.S., through a nationwide network of capital sources

Not a fit: first-time investors, owner-occupied homes, deals without a realistic exit, or loans under $500K.

What I control

I’m not the lender. They set the rate, terms, and approval. What I control is whether the exit gets tested before you close, so the bridge actually leads somewhere.

A bridge loan is only as good as the exit behind it. Send me the deal and the plan, and I’ll test the exit before you sign.