Florida Bridge Loans
Rates Starting at 10%
The fastest Bridge Lender in the state of Florida.
We lend directly using our own capital
- Instant pre-approval on the phone
- Funding typically within one week; two weeks for larger loans
- Loan amounts up to $10 million
Property Types
- Multi-family
- Single-family Investment Properties
- Condominiums
- Apartments
- Co-ops
- Retail
- Small Office Buildings
- Industrial & Warehouse
- Duplex
- Triplex
- Quadplex
- Mixed-Use
Lending Parameters
| Loan Size | Up to $10 million |
| Loan to purchase (residential) | 80% of Purchase Price |
| Loan to purchase (commercial/industrial) | 70% of Purchase Price |
| Rehab Funding | 100% |
| LTV | 75% of the ARV |
| Term | 1 to 3 years |
| Lien | First lien; additional second liens accepted |
| Existing Appraisals | Accepted |
| Interest Rate | 8%–10% |
| Points | 1–3% of the loan amount |
Counties Covered
West Forest Capital lends in the following counties in Florida:
Recently Funded Bridge Loans
- Location: Hollywood, FL
- Property type: Condo
- Funded at closing: $445,000
- Rehab funds: Not Required
- Total loan: $445,000
- Location: Kearny, NJ
- Property type: Duplex
- Funded at closing: $86,250
- Rehab funds: Not Required
- Total loan: $86,250
- Location: Elizabeth, NJ
- Property type: Duplex
- Funded at closing: $190,000
- Rehab funds: Not Required
- Total loan: $190,000
Why Use a Bridge Loan
- Much faster funding times. We operate on a completely different schedule than banks because we only underwrite the value of the property. This means funding times within 7 days for most deals. We can even fund in 2-3 days if you have an existing appraisal.
- Force appreciation. Investors looking to create value will look to buy properties that have below market rents or need substantial rehab. While banks will not fund to the full potential of these properties (if they can fund at all), we will. Our bridge loans allow you to get temporary funding to stabilize the properties before refinancing with a bank or flipping.
- Rebuilding Credit. Together with you, we are in the real estate business, not the personal credit business. While we may check your credit history, most of our lending criteria surrounds the property itself. We offer bridge loans even if you have bad credit.
- Funding for your business. As a real estate investor, it’s best to avoid liability by holding assets in an LLC not in your personal name. Our bridge loans are always made to your business.
Why Choose a Florida Bridge Lender
If you are looking for a Florida Bridge Loan to fund your real estate investment property, we can help. Based in Palm Beach, we offer localized knowledge and maximum flexibility Bridge Loans throughout the State of Florida. Your ability and vision as a real estate investor matters more to us than having your property and FICO score fit into an underwriting box. This means maximum flexibility on property type and strategy. We can fund single-family fix and flips, condo buildings, mixed-use buildings, commercial, and even industrial properties. Examples include: single family acquisition for Airbnb purposes in Lake Park, office building stabilization in Boynton Beach, condo financing for foreign nationals in Miami, industrial space acquisition and rehab funding in Orlando, and the financing of a mixed-use building in Tampa with a locksmith business on the bottom and apartments above.
Financing You Florida Real Estate Investment
Florida is an attractive real estate market, but without the right lending partner, investors can get in trouble. We’ve seen bait and switch tactics and a lengthy wait for appraisals more times than we care to count. We know this because our borrowers often contact us in a rush to salvage their deal that was slow to proceed and ultimately rejected by a national lender. As a local Florida Bridge Loan Lender, we have a network of appraisers and title companies that can ensure certainty in execution and fast closing times.
In fact, we are thrilled to announce that we offer the quickest Bridge Loan closing timelines in Florida of approximately 7 days. If you have an existing appraisal, and need emergency funding, we can fund within 2-3 days. We also understand that low funding rates are critically important to your ROI, and are able to offer the lowest Bridge Loan rates in the industry, with no junk fees.
Bridge Lender for Asset-Based Real Estate Loans
We fund the underlying real estate, not your FICO score. As such, although we prefer 620+ FICO scores, we do not have a FICO minimum and can fund your deal even if you have bad credit.
Loan terms are typically for one year, but not uncommonly we finance properties for two or even three years. A common reason for seeking Bridge Loans financing longer than one year is to stabilize the property and increase FICO score when applying for an SBA loan.
If you are looking to maximize the advance rate received against a property, we do accept second liens as additional collateral. For example, in these situations, we have been able to increase the percentage funded of purchase price from 80% to 90%.
No situation is too complex. When others pass, we fund.
FAQs
What are bridge loan lenders?
Bridge loan lenders in Florida are asset-based, alternative (non-bank) lenders, which evaluate the underlying property much more than the borrower when making lending decisions. The opposite is true with a bank loan. While both banks and bridge lenders issue mortgage loans, the lending criteria for a bridge loan are significantly different.
Bridge loans offer the following benefits:
Shorter Underwriting Process. While banks will take 3 to 4 months or even longer to provide a loan, a bridge loan lender can provide the same loan in just 1 to 2 weeks.
More Property Funding Options. Bridge loan lenders can fund a wider variety of properties, whereas banks tend to be more limited in what they choose to fund. Bridge loans can often fund properties that involve:
- A significant amount of rehab
- Missing or broken systems such as HVAC, septic, etc
- Structural issues
- Code violations
- Missing a CO
Also, if you’re a real estate investor interested in refinancing your existing debt and cashing out on a property, a Florida bridge loan lender can help.
Accessible with Low Credit. Banks often decline lending on lower FICO scores, whereas bridge loan lenders do not require a high credit score. This makes bridge lenders ideal for someone with poor credit.
Keep in mind that bridge loan lenders will not lend on primary real estate (this means that the borrower cannot live in the property). However, renting the property out is completely permissable.
How do bridge loan lenders work?
One of the biggest benefits of bridge loans is that they are much faster to obtain than those offered by a bank. The underwriting process for receiving a bridge loan is also easier. Here are some important elements of Florida bridge loans:
- Interest rates will vary between 8% and 11%.
- There will be anywhere from 1 to 3 points charged at closing.
- Loan duration is often 12 to 24 months, with 12 being the most common.
- The total loan amount, which includes funds for the property purchase and funds for the rehab, should not exceed approximately 67% of the property After-Repair-Value (ARV).
- The loan amount will cover between 70% to 85% of the purchase price, depending on the property type, and typically, 100% of the rehab.
- The rehab portion is distributed in arrears (which is triggered once a portion of the work is completed). For example, if the total rehab amount for the property is $40,000, the borrower will complete the first round of work for $10,000 and request the draw. Once that amount is used on the next portion of work, the borrower can request an additional $10,000, etc.
What are bridge loans used for?
Florida Bridge loans can be used for a wide variety of purposes. These often include:
Fix-and-flip properties that traditional banks refuse to lend on, which can be due to either poor borrower credit or the property itself not fitting bank underwriting standards.
Florida properties that have below-market rents or non-paying tenants. The property will be purchased and stabilized (rent increased, problematic tenants removed), and then refinanced with a traditional bank at a lower rate.
Obtaining a quick cash-out loan either by refinancing an existing loan at higher leverage or a complete cash-out on properties that are owned free and clear. New York bridge loans can fund a cash-out in 1-2 weeks, while traditional banks will take several months.
Purchasing property under an LLC (traditional banks do not like to make loans to LLCs, they almost always will insist the loan is made out to what’s refered to as a “warm body”, i.e. a member of the LLC.
Refinancing an existing mortage loan that is maturing. This can be done to avoid default while a permanent refinancing is secured.
What do bridge loan lenders look for?
Our Florida bridge loan lenders at West Forest Capital typically have the following requirements:
- The borrower must have an LLC. Bridge loans are considered commercial loans and therefore lenders only lend to LLCs.
- A property appraisal will be conducted. This is to ensure the purchase price and the ARV “make sense.” Ideally, if the property is purchased below the market value, there is instant equity created, creating further cushion for the borrower. Properties pruchases at market value are also acceptable.
- A clean title report is required in order to receive a bridge loan.
- If the borrower needs a bridge loan to include a rehab compotent, a detailed rehab schedule must be provided that includes the scope of work and specific costs. The property repairs must be performed according to the rehab schedule.
- There should be enough spread in the project so that it is profitable for the borrower. To determine if the bridge loan is a good fit, the property purchase price, along with the rehab costs, closing fees, interest, and any other soft costs will be evaluated.