Apply for Bridge Loan Refinancing
Often property projects drag on longer than expected, sometimes exceeding the term of the loan used to finance them. Is your existing bridge loan nearing the end of its term, but do you still require the cash flow? Or are you searching to find a better-paying interest rate and terms? You might be able to save yourself some money by refinancing your existing bridge loan.
How Can Lightspeed Lending Help You to Refinance Your Bridge Loan?
Many lenders will offer bridge loans and refinancing solutions to their clients, so how do you choose the right lender for you? While interest rates are important, that is not the only consideration.
If efficiency and unparalleled customer service are important to you, then Lightspeed Lending is here for you. We will be there for you when you need us. Unlike other lenders, at Lightspeed Lending we don’t adhere to strict office hours. Instead, we tailor our customer service to meet the demands of our individual clients. With efficiency being such an important part of the service that we offer here at Lightspeed Lending, we are always available at the other end of the phone.
Flexible Options for Refinancing Bridge Loans
We will work with you to try and make the impossible possible, whatever that may be. Some of the key criteria of our refinancing solutions include:
Up to 80% loan to value ratio (LTV)
Loans from $100,000 to a maximum loan value of $10,000,000 on a non-owner occupied property
Interest rates starting at 6.99%
12 to 24 months flexible terms
No prepayment penalty
No minimum FICO score
We will discuss a personalized exit strategy
Here at Lightspeed Lending, we are passionate about taking the stress out of refinancing bridge loans. If you want to find out more about how refinancing your bridge loan can help you, then give us a call.
What is the Process of Refinancing Bridge Loans?
Now you know what a bridge loan is and why you may need to refinance it, let’s talk about the process of refinancing your bridge loan:
Step By Step Refinancing Your Loan
- Firstly, we will have a 15- to 30-minute conversation over the phone with you. During this call, we will gather more information about yourself and details about the property.
- If you have pre-qualified to refinance your existing bridge loan, we will ask for you to provide us with some specific documentation. As you are looking to refinance your loan, this will include your driver’s license, Employer Identification Number (EIN), articles of organization, and operating agreement (if the property to be purchased or titled is currently owned in an LLC or business entity), a bank statement or a voided check to allow us to carry out an automatic debit or credit check, title, insurance, and valuation from 3rd parties.
We will also need to see your existing bridge loan offer from your current lender so that we can verify the original terms of the loan.
- Once we have received all title documents and insurance back, we will submit the file to be underwritten. The file then gets submitted for conditional approval, which typically takes between 24 and 48 hours. Once we satisfy the conditional approval, loan documents get sent to the title company for closing.
We can process your application in a fraction of the time of conventional loans, achieving closings within just 10 to 15 business days. We will work with you to finalize details of a suitable exit strategy for paying off the loan at the end of the term.
What Are BRIDGE Loans?
A bridge loan, or swing loan, is a short-term financing solution that funds or ‘bridges’ a gap until a more permanent financing solution is secured, for example, providing the immediate capital needed during the transitionary period between selling your existing property and buying a new one. Bridge loans can be used to pay off your current mortgage provider, releasing the equity on your existing investment property to be used as a down payment on your investment property, even before your new mortgage is arranged.
How Does a Bridge Loan Work?
Bridge loans, also sometimes referred to as gap financing, interim financing, or swing loans, can be used by individual investors or corporations. They can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the borrower.
Much the same as with a mortgage, a bridge loan is secured using the property as collateral. The borrower must have significant equity in their existing property to qualify for a bridge loan.
Applying for a bridge loan works in a similar way to applying for a traditional mortgage.
How Does a Bridge Loan Differ From a Conventional Mortgage?
A bridge loan and a traditional mortgage differ considerably. While a mortgage is typically repaid over approximately 15 to 30 years of regular mortgage payments, bridge financing is a short-term loan, repayable within a maximum of 24 months.
A mortgage is paid off in monthly payments, while a borrower must repay a bridge loan as one lump sum payment before the end of the repayment term. A suitable exit strategy will be drawn up with your loan officer when your bridge loan is approved.
What Type of Property Can Be Pruchased with a Bridging Loan?
With Lightspeed Lending, our bridge financing can be used to fund the purchase of many property types, including single-family residences, multiunit family residences (1 to 4 units), townhomes, planned unit developments (PUDs), or condominiums. All properties must be non-owner occupied.
Is a Bridge Loan Right for YOU?
How do you know if bridge financing is a good fit for you? A bridge loan may be right for you if you are a seasoned investor and:
- You expect an existing property to sell quickly and have already chosen a new investment property
- You require immediate cash flow for a down payment to your new property, but this is tied up in an existing investment property
- You wish to purchase a property at auction and are unable to secure the funds to complete this purchase on time
- You are eager to close on your new property before the sale of your investment existing property closes, but you require capital for a down payment on your purchase
- You are part of a business that has been presented with an immediate residential or commercial real estate investment opportunity
Pros of Bridge Loans
Bridge loans have many advantages, including:
- You can use a bridge loan to buy you time, enabling you to close a deal before securing a conventional mortgage or another long-term financing solution.
- A bridging loan is usually quick and simple to arrange, requiring less documentation and red tape than a conventional loan. Borrowers seeking a bridge loan are generally eager to draw down funds quickly and easily and bridge loans generally provide a speedy application-to-funding process.
- There are typically no early repayment fees attached to bridge loans.
- Flexible underwriting requirements.
- In some cases, no monthly payment is required! While some lenders may ask for interest-only payments to be made monthly, many prefer lump-sum interest payments at the end of the loan term.
Cons of Bridge Loans
Some of the cons of bridge loans include:
- Bridge loans typically have high interest rates compared to traditional loans. However, the practicality and efficiency of a bridge loan will generally justify high bridge loan rates to a borrower.
- Transaction costs and closing costs may also be higher for a bridge loan. Closing costs can add up to a few thousand dollars, alongside an origination fee. While the fees may vary between bridge loan lenders, you can expect to have to pay an origination fee at the very least.
Are There Any Bridge Loan Alternatives?
While bridge loans present an attractive solution for securing the necessary finance for your purchase, there are alternatives that you may wish to consider:
- Unsecured lending, such as credit cards, a personal loan, or a bank overdraft. The problems with unsecured lending solutions are they are generally capped, payable after a short term, and incur interest only/high-interest rates.
- Refinancing your existing investment property, although this can incur expensive additional fees, including solicitor expenses, valuation fees, and arrangement fees.
- Specific loans, such as a rental loan or a fix and flip loan, if these products are applicable to your situation.
Whatever option you choose it is important to consider the total cost of your finance solution before you commit to it.
Why Would I Need to Refinance My Existing Bridge Loan?
Things don’t always go to plan, and this is certainly the case within the real estate sector, too. Months quickly turn into years when renovating or constructing your dream investment property. With uncontrollable factors such as contractor schedules, weather conditions, and planning permission, you just never know for sure how long things are going to take. If your exit strategy has fallen apart, where do you turn?
You may have secured a residential bridge loan to purchase your new investment property, but due to stalled renovation or reconstruction work are unable to sell your existing investment property on time, or are unable to secure a mortgage on your investment property. Your renovation work may have cost more than you budgeted for, we’ve all been there!
Due to these delays, you are unable to secure the financing to pay off your bridge loan before the end of the repayment term. Obviously, you do not want to be left in the dire financial situation of defaulting on your bridge loan, and possible repossession of your real estate. This is where refinancing comes into play.
How Can Refinancing Your Existing Bridge Loan Help?
Your lender is unlikely to extend the original terms of your bridge loan. In the above scenario, your best option may well be to refinance your existing bridge loan. Refinancing allows you to pay off your existing loan and effectively extend your loan to give yourself enough time to secure permanent funding, with no monthly payments to worry about in the meantime.
Refinancing means that you simply take out a new bridge loan to refinance your existing loan. It works in much the same way as standard bridge loans, but you use the new loan to pay off the original bridge loan. This will give you additional time to sort everything out, whether that is completing a renovation, continuing with construction, or selling your investment property.
Should I Seek Help from My Existing Lender?
Generally, the new bridge loan is sourced from a different lender however, some hard money lenders may choose to refinance their own loan. Bridge loans can be refinanced quickly, meaning that there is no unnecessary delay to proceedings.
How Can You Circumvent Paying Private Mortgage Insurance?
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is a type of insurance that borrowers may need to purchase as a requirement of their mortgage when placing a down payment of less than 20% of their home purchase price. PMI will increase the price of your monthly payments.
A bridge loan can provide borrowers with the capital to place a down payment that exceeds this important 20% of the purchase price. In doing so, you are able to avoid paying PMI.
Who We Are
We are FAST lenders for those who want to borrow money for residential bridge loans, fix & flip loans, rental loans & construction loans. The key is we get you money faster and more cost effectively then anyone else.
About Lightspeed Lending
Lightspeed Lending is a private money lender located in Boca Raton, Florida. Lending services provided by Lightspeed Lending include residential bridge loans, fix and flip loans, rental loans, and construction loans. We also refinance existing loans.
Andrew Weissman, Lightspeed Founder, and President
Lightspeed Founder and President, Andrew Weissman, has vast knowledge and experience within the real estate investment sector. Andrew strives to offer all of his clients a lending service that is fully tailored to meet their individual needs.
Andrew’s expertise and reliable advice will help you to negotiate seamlessly through the process of refinancing your existing bridge loan.
To compete in the current seller’s market, speed is essential. Lightspeed Lending can offer you quick and efficient access to the capital you require.
By working with us, you can bypass broker fees, as we process, underwrite, and close loans all in-house.
We also strive to establish a lasting relationship with all of our clients, so that any future funding processes can be handled even more efficiently!
We Offer Unparalleled Customer Service
Our real estate investors provide us with fantastic reviews about our loan programs and the excellent service that they receive from us. Find out some of the reasons why they love us below:
Top Reviews from Customers
Lightspeed Lending
499 East Palmetto Park Road Suite 226, Boca Raton
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Andrew from Lightspeed Lending is amazing. Extremely efficient and attentive in the process of assisting you with meeting your financing needs. I am looking forward to doing more business with them in the future and would definitely recommend … More to my network of friends and family members.
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I worked with Andrew Weissman to leverage one investment property to purchase all cash, quick close- on tight deadline. Andrew is professional, diligent and hardworking. He answered questions at every hour of the day- quick with text and … More email- and followed up with all parties to keep momentum going. Highly recommend Lightspeed Lending.
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Andrew from Lightspeed is extremely knowledgeable about his products, no one takes the time and energy like him to ensure you get the best deals possible! I would never work with anyone besides Lightspeed lending, I have grown my real … More estate portfolio all besides of Lightspeed lending. Thank you!
