ENTERING ORBIT…
ENTERING ORBIT…
Short-term, asset-secured financing that closes in days and buys time — for acquisitions that can't wait, equity that needs unlocking, or transitions between properties.
MEMBERS GET ANSWERS FROM REAL INVESTOR GUIDELINES — WITH CITATIONS
The orbit briefing
Bridge lending is the cash offer's financing equivalent: fast close, light documentation, equity-driven approval. It exists to solve timing — the auction purchase, the 1031 deadline, the buy-before-you-sell move-up, the partner buyout — with the exit strategy as the real underwrite.
The discipline is exit-first thinking. Every bridge file should close with a documented path to repayment: a sale, a refinance, or a liquidity event with dates attached. Rate matters less than certainty and speed; the expensive bridge that closes beats the cheap one that doesn't.
How bridge files underwrite
Equity is the credit: LTV against as-is value, with minimal income analysis on business-purpose files.
Exit strategy is documented, not assumed — listing agreements, refi pre-flights, or contracted sales.
Terms run 6–24 months, often interest-only, sometimes with payment reserves built into the loan.
Speed comes from process: desktop or rush appraisals, title-first workflows, and lenders staffed to close in 5–10 days.
Typical guardrails
Educational ranges across the market — every investor grids this differently.
| MAX LTV | 60 – 75% | As-is value; cross-collateral can stretch it |
| TERM | 6 – 24 months | Extensions available but priced |
| CLOSE TIMELINE | 5 – 15 days | The product's entire reason to exist |
| PAYMENTS | Interest-only | Reserves or interest holdbacks common |
| EXIT | Sale or refinance | Underwritten up front — bring evidence |
EXACT NUMBERS LIVE ON THE SCENARIO DESK — CITED TO THE GUIDELINE PAGE
Straight answers
When there's no defined exit or when timeline pressure is imaginary. If the borrower can wait 30 days, DSCR or Non-QM term debt is almost always cheaper.
Mostly business-purpose (entity borrowers, investment property). Consumer-purpose bridge exists but carries full compliance overhead — know which one you're originating.
Materially above term Non-QM — typically points at close plus double-digit-adjacent rates. The math works because the term is short and the alternative is losing the deal.