John 3:16
Bridge loans

Bridge Loans for Real Estate

Short-term capital that closes in days, while permanent financing is arranged or another property sells. Interest-only, secured on the asset, and underwritten on your exit — which is the part that decides whether it works.

Get your deal reviewed 903-636-7511

A residential street with houses either side, one listed for sale
One property closing, another waiting. The gap between them is what a bridge loan covers.

A bridge loan solves timing, not money

That distinction matters more than any number on this page. A bridge loan does not make a deal affordable — it makes a deal possible on the timeline it actually has. A great property comes up and needs to close in ten days. Your permanent financing needs forty-five. The bridge covers the gap between those two facts.

Everything else follows from that. The loan is short, it is interest-only, it is underwritten on the property and your exit rather than on your income, and it closes in days. It is also more expensive than the financing that replaces it, which is fine, because you are only supposed to hold it briefly.

What it costs and how long it runs

Term2026Notes
Interest rate10%–12%Strongest borrowers on clean deals can see below 10%. Commercial bridge runs roughly 8% to 12.5%.
Points1.5–3Paid at closing, in cash, on top of your deposit.
Term6–36 monthsInterest-only throughout, with the balance due at the end.
Time to close3–10 daysAgainst 45 to 90 for conventional. This is the product you are buying.
Credit620–680 minMore lenient than DSCR or conventional. Better pricing at 700+, and credit becomes the tie-breaker when the property or the exit is marginal.
PrepaymentUsually noneYou should not be penalised for exiting ahead of schedule. Confirm it in writing.

Through our lending partners, bridge financing runs from 10.99% plus 1.99 origination points, up to 100% of cost and 70% of value, from $50,000, minimum credit 600, terms to twelve months.

The four exits, and the one that is not an exit

Bridge lenders underwrite your exit as carefully as they underwrite the property, because the exit is how they get paid. A concrete, time-bound plan improves your rate and your terms. A vague one costs you both, and sometimes the approval.

1. Sell the propertySupported by a realistic after-repair value and an honest market analysis — including how long comparable properties are actually sitting, not how long they sat two years ago.
2. Refinance into permanent financingUsually DSCR or conventional once the property is stabilised and let. The most common exit for buy-and-hold, and the backbone of the BRRRR approach.
3. Sell a different propertyOften cross-collateralised, with a scheduled close. Perfectly legitimate, provided the sale is under contract rather than hoped for.
4. A capital eventA pending business sale, an insurance settlement, a vesting stock grant. Documented, dated and evidenced — not described.
"I'll figure it out" is not an exit strategy. It is the single most common reason a bridge application is declined, and the single most common reason a bridge loan ends badly. Bridge financing works beautifully when the exit lands as planned. When it does not, the borrower is in a refinancing crisis with a balance due and a clock at zero.

If your exit is a refinance, qualify for it before you close

This is the part investors skip, and it is where the trouble starts. Refinancing into a DSCR loan is not automatic just because the property is finished. That lender has its own requirements, and you need to meet them at the moment your bridge matures — not eventually.

And start the exit sixty to ninety days before maturity. If you are refinancing, that means contacting the long-term lender then, not in the final fortnight. If you are selling, it means the property is staged, listed and being marketed. Everything about a bridge loan rewards being early and punishes being late.

When a bridge is the right call

Yes

  • A deal that will be gone before conventional underwriting finishes
  • An auction or distressed sale with a hard close date
  • A property that needs work before any long-term lender will look at it
  • Permanent financing already in process but not funding for another sixty days
  • Buying the next property before the last one has completed its sale

No

  • You cannot service interest-only payments for the full term
  • The exit depends on the market improving
  • You are using it because you do not qualify conventionally and have no plan to
  • The margin is thin enough that points and interest eat it
  • There is only one exit and no backup if it slips

Build the backup exit before you close, not after the first one wobbles. If the plan is to sell, know what the refinance would look like. If the plan is to refinance, know what the property would fetch. Investors who lose money on bridge loans almost always had one plan and no second one.

Bridge loan questions

What is a bridge loan in real estate?

Short-term financing, typically six to thirty-six months, used to close on a property before permanent financing is in place or before another property sells. It is interest-only, secured against the asset, and underwritten on the property and your exit rather than your income.

How fast can a bridge loan close?

Commonly three to ten days once valuation and title are done, against forty-five to ninety for a conventional mortgage. Speed is the entire reason the product exists.

What do bridge loans cost in 2026?

Roughly 10% to 12% interest for most investment property bridges, plus 1.5 to 3 origination points. Commercial deals span about 8% to 12.5%. Our lending partners start at 10.99% plus 1.99 points.

What credit score do I need?

Most investor bridge programmes want 620 to 680 as a minimum, with better pricing at 700 and above. Bridge underwriting is more lenient than DSCR or conventional, but credit still decides close calls.

What counts as a good exit strategy?

A sale supported by real comparable sales, a refinance you already qualify for, the scheduled sale of another property, or a documented capital event. What does not count is intending to work it out later.

Can I refinance a bridge loan into a DSCR loan?

Yes, and it is the most common exit for buy-and-hold investors. Confirm you will meet the DSCR lender's requirements first: typically six to twelve months of rental history, a ratio of 1.25 or better, and six to twelve months of reserves.

Is there a prepayment penalty?

Usually not, and there should not be. You should be free to exit early without a fee. Confirm it before closing rather than assuming.

What happens if my exit slips?

Most lenders will extend for a fee, commonly one to two points plus continued interest. Start the exit process sixty to ninety days before maturity so a slip is a delay rather than a crisis.

Get your deal reviewed

Answer these and we will tell you whether it is fundable, on what terms, and how fast it could close. Investment property only — we do not lend on a home you will live in.

About you
The property
The numbers

Prefer to talk? Call 903-636-7511. Business-purpose loans on non-owner-occupied property only. Submitting this form is not an application or a commitment to lend.

Got it.

We will run the numbers and come back to you. If it is time-sensitive, call 903-636-7511.

Working a deal right now?
Call 903-636-7511 and we will tell you in one conversation whether it is fundable.

Dominion Hard Money arranges private and asset-based real estate financing for business purposes only. Not a commitment to lend. All loans subject to underwriting, property review, and approval. Terms vary by property, borrower experience, and exit strategy.