Short-term capital between a property's today and its tomorrow.
A bridge loan is a short-term real estate loan — typically 6 to 24 months — used to "bridge" between a property's current state and its eventual stabilized financing or sale. Bridge loans are the workhorse of commercial real estate when speed matters more than rate.
A bridge loan exists to solve a timing problem. The most common use case: a borrower needs to close fast on an opportunity, but the property isn't stabilized enough for a permanent loan yet — maybe occupancy is below 80%, maybe rents are below market, maybe a major lease just rolled. The bridge loan funds the purchase (and often the repositioning capex), and the borrower refinances into long-term debt once the property is performing.
The other common use case is cash-out bridge: an operator with strong equity in a stabilized asset needs liquidity for a new acquisition or capital project but can't wait the 60–90 days a permanent loan requires. A bridge closes in 2–4 weeks, capital deploys, and the bridge gets refinanced (or repaid from sale) within 12–18 months.
Bridge loans price higher than permanent loans — typically 200–400 basis points above prime — because they're short-term, often interest-only, and carry transition risk. They're also typically non-recourse or limited-recourse on institutional deals, with prepayment flexibility (no long prepay penalties), origination fees of 1–2%, and exit fees on some structures.
Matrix Commercial Capital structures bridge loans on transitional multifamily, value-add commercial, fix-and-hold residential portfolios, and DSCR-bridge hybrids. The principle is simple: bridge loans should be priced as a transitional tool, not a permanent debt vehicle, and the exit needs to be planned at origination.
| Acquisition price | $2,400,000 |
| Renovation budget (interior turns, common areas) | $350,000 |
| Total project cost | $2,750,000 |
| Bridge loan: 75% LTC | $2,062,500 |
| Bridge rate / term | 9.75% interest-only / 18 months |
| Monthly interest cost | ~$16,758 |
| Stabilized NOI projected at month 14 | $230,000 |
| Refi into perm at 70% LTV of $3.5M stabilized value | $2,450,000 |
A clean bridge loan can close in 2–4 weeks. Matrix has closed bridge loans in as little as 7 days on time-sensitive acquisitions where the borrower had clean docs and the appraisal could be expedited.
Bridge loans are typically larger, longer (12–24 months), and used for transitional commercial and multifamily assets. Hard money loans are typically smaller, shorter (6–12 months), and used for fix-and-flip residential. The line blurs at the small-balance end of the bridge market.
Institutional bridge loans on $5M+ deals are often non-recourse with bad-boy carve-outs. Smaller bridge loans usually carry a personal guarantee or limited recourse. Matrix structures both depending on sponsor and asset.
Yes — most bridge loans include 1–2 extension options (typically 6 months each) for a fee of 0.5–1% per extension. Extensions are common when a planned exit slips due to leasing delays or capital project overruns.
Two ways: refinance into a permanent loan (most common, once the property stabilizes) or sale of the property. Bridge loans are designed to be transitional — they're never intended to be the long-term financing solution.
Matrix funds bridge loans on value-add multifamily, transitional commercial, and small-balance portfolios. 7–14 day close. Real underwriting. No bank slow-walk.
