Real estate agents, investors, home buyers and home sellers are always interested in utilizing smart home buying strategies.

A bridge loan is a type of creative financing that falls into the category of “smart home buying strategies”.  It is a short term loan, 12 to 18 months only.  It gets paid off with longer-term financing sometime in the near future,  or from the sale of the property.  As the name implies,  it  provides a bridge from one transaction to the next.

The Benefits:

#1. A Bridge loan is sometimes considered a cash purchase by Listing Agents.

#2. The Buyer does not need a contingency clause in the purchase offer of their new    home.

#3.  A home owner can buy a new house now and sell their present home later.

#4. There is no fear of losing their dream home because they have not sold their present home.

#5. Your buyer can buy a fixer, renovate it and have their dream home.  Hard money bridge loans are often the solution for less than perfect properties.

#6. Speed.  These loans can usually close in less than a week.

The Requirements:

• It must be a 12 month loan.
• There will be 3 months of guaranteed interest minimally.
• 20% down payment required on a purchase.
• On a refinance there must be lendable equity.

The Uses:

Typically, bridge loans are sought when another sale is pending and the funds are needed to close the final deal.   At other times,  a buyer may be in a “fire sale” situation,  where the seller on the other end of the transaction must close a deal within a specified period of time.

Some instances when you might use a Bridge Loan are:

• Pulling some cash out of the equity in your current home to secure a down payment to purchase another home. This allows you more time to sell your present home.
• Refinancing the property you are selling to pay cash for the new home.

The Costs:

Rates and costs for Bridge Loans can vary by Lender.   Rates range between *9-12% and are usually interest only.  Rates depend on the amount of the down payment so the bigger the down, the lower the interest rate.

How We Can Help You:

We are licensed for the state of California and have been in business for 29 years.

Call our office at 707-523-2099 and within just a few minutes, we can let you know what we can do for you!

We hope this has helped you understand more about what a Bridge loan is and how we can be of assistance.