Multifamily Bridge Loans

A multifamily bridge loan is a short-term commercial real estate loan secured by a 5+ unit apartment building. The loan bridges the gap between where a property is today and where it needs to be to qualify for permanent financing. Lenders underwrite on the property's current and projected stabilized value, not a trailing income history that does not yet exist because the building is being repositioned.

Multifamily bridge loans fund three primary situations: acquisitions of value-add apartment buildings that need renovation and lease-up before qualifying for agency debt, stabilization periods on newly constructed or recently renovated properties waiting to hit occupancy thresholds, and time-sensitive off-market purchases where a 45-day agency process loses the deal. Loan terms run 6 to 24 months. After the business plan executes, the investor exits into permanent financing or sells.

Buckle Up Capital is a broker, not a lender. We connect apartment investors with multifamily bridge lenders in our network that fund deals from $500K to $25M across all 50 states. We match your project to the right capital source, run the placement process and keep the timeline moving so you can focus on the deal. For single-family and small-portfolio bridge needs, see our hard money bridge loans page.

The multifamily bridge loan is the transition vehicle. The permanent loan is the destination. Most apartment investors using bridge financing have one of four exit paths in mind when they close: a DSCR loan, CMBS, agency debt through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or a life company execution for larger stabilized assets. The choice depends on loan size, property class and the investor's hold strategy.

DSCR loans work well for smaller multifamily (5 to 10 units) where the property qualifies on its own rental income without a personal income review. We place DSCR executions directly and can pre-qualify the bridge exit before you close the bridge loan. For larger properties, agency financing through Fannie Mae Small Balance or Freddie Mac SBL is the common exit on 5 to 50 unit stabilized assets. Minimum DSCR of 1.25, minimum occupancy of 90% for 90 days prior to closing, and a full appraisal at stabilized value are the typical thresholds.

CMBS financing works for larger commercial assets where the loan amount exceeds typical agency thresholds. Life company executions offer the lowest long-term rates on class A assets in primary markets. The bridge-to-permanent sequence is the same in all cases: use short-term bridge financing to fund the transition period, then refinance into the permanent product that fits the stabilized asset profile.

We help you identify the permanent exit before the bridge closes so the business plan is designed around a known financing path, not a hoped-for one. See our DSCR loan programs and commercial real estate financing for permanent options.