Bridge Loans Overview

When you’re in the market for a piece of property, whether it’s residential, commercial, or an investment, you’re probably looking at several different types of financing options. If you already have enough funds available, and you have no existing properties that you have to worry about liquidating to get the funds, the financing will go fairly smoothly. But if you’re planning on selling an existing property to get the equity before or after purchasing a new one, things can get complicated if you are not prepared.

A popular financing option is a bridge loan. A bridge loan, commonly referred to as a swing loan, is a relatively short-term financing option for new purchases. A bridge loan helps finance a new purchase by providing money to help "bridge" the time gap before a previous property sells, and permanent financing can be obtained for the new purchase. Bridge loans are normally paid off when the existing property sells.

Bridge loans are used for a variety of real estate transactions, from residential properties to commercial properties. They’re typically used to acquire new properties, cash out on current equity, buy-out, purchase a foreclosure, or for new construction. Usually, to obtain a bridge loan on any new purchase, you need a contract to sell on your existing property. If not, then a bridge loan may not be the most appropriate financing option for you.

The attractive thing about ridge loans is that they let you purchase property almost immediately, without having to wait for another property to sell. They give you the needed time for your current property to sell, while still allowing you to purchase the new property quickly. If your property is taking longer to sell than originally planned, a bridge loan can help close the gap and let you make a new purchase without having to lose the chance.

There are private hard money lenders who specialize in bridge loans.  Kennedy Funding is one such company, specializing in bridge loans for commercial property and raw land development, workouts, bankruptcy and foreclosures. Their creative financing expertise enables them to close on these equity-based commercial bridge loans of $1 million to over $100 million in as little as 5 days.  Their international network of private lenders allows borrowers with assets to get the hard money commercial loans they need super-fast. So, no matter where in the world someone does business, they make getting a bridge loan simple and quick.