Short term real estate financing since 2013
A bridge loan buys you time.
It does not replace a plan to pay it back.
Bridge financing covers a property between two events: a purchase and a sale, a purchase and a permanent loan, or a rough patch and a stabilized asset. Busy Bee Services places these files with lenders who underwrite the property and the exit, not only your credit file.
When it fits
The situations bridge financing is built for
Each of these has the same shape underneath it: money is needed now, and a specific, identifiable event pays it back later.
Buying before you sell
You found the next property and it will not wait for your current one to close. A bridge loan draws on the equity in the property you already own so you can buy the next one, then the sale of the first pays off the bridge.
A property that cannot qualify yet
Vacant, under leased, mid renovation, or missing the operating history a permanent lender wants on paper. The property will qualify for conventional or SBA financing eventually. It does not qualify today, and today is when you need to close.
A closing deadline that will not move
A seller will not extend, an exchange window is running, or a contract has a hard date attached to it. Conventional underwriting is thorough, and thorough takes time. A bridge loan closes on the deal's calendar instead of the bank's.
Stabilizing an asset before a refinance
You need to finish a renovation, fill vacancy, or build a few months of clean rent roll before a permanent lender will touch the file. The bridge carries the property through that stretch, then a refinance or sale takes it out.
How it works
What you are actually signing up for
A bridge loan is secured by the property, priced for speed and short term risk rather than for a decade of payments, and usually structured as interest only. Underwriting looks harder at the property, the equity involved, and the plan to pay the loan off than it does at years of income history.
That plan to pay it off is the loan. Lenders call it an exit strategy: a sale already under contract, a refinance already lined up, or a stabilization plan with a defined timeline. Without one, a bridge loan is just expensive short term debt sitting on a property with no way off it.
Straight talk
A bridge loan without an exit is a real problem
Say the plain version of it. If the sale falls through, the refinance gets declined, or the renovation runs long, the bridge loan does not go away. It is still due, it is still accruing, and refinancing a loan that already stalled once is harder than financing the deal the first time around.
This is why a lender asks what the exit is before asking much else. It is also worth asking yourself the same question before you apply. A concrete exit with a fallback is a bridge loan doing its job. A hope that something works out is not an exit, it is a bet, and the loan is priced like the short term risk it actually is.
How the loan gets paid off, and what happens if that specific plan does not happen on schedule. If you cannot answer both, the honest move is to solve that first.
How these get funded
Many bridge loans are structured as hard money
Speed and a property based decision are the point of both products. The programs below are what a hard money file looks like once it is priced and offered.
Figures above are third party lender program ranges. They are subject to underwriting and approval and are not an offer or commitment to lend.
Common questions
Before you apply
What exactly does a bridge loan bridge?
The gap between two points in time: a purchase and a later sale, a purchase and a permanent loan, or a property's current condition and a stabilized one. The loan closes that gap and gets repaid when the other side of it arrives.
What counts as a real exit strategy?
Something specific with a date attached, not a general expectation. A signed listing with realistic pricing, a refinance already in underwriting, or a lease up plan with a timeline you can actually hit. "It should sell" is not an exit strategy.
What happens if the exit does not happen on schedule?
The loan is still due. Some lenders allow an extension at a cost, some do not. This is exactly why the exit gets asked about before the loan is offered, and why you should have a fallback in mind before you sign anything.
Do you lend the money directly?
No. Busy Bee Services places bridge files with lenders who fund this kind of financing. We are the intermediary that matches your file to the programs it actually fits, not the source of the funds.
Is my credit score the main factor?
We do check it, but the property and the equity in the deal carry more weight than they would on a conventional loan. This is part of why bridge financing works for borrowers whose credit does not tell the whole story.
Is bridge financing available outside Illinois?
Yes. Programs are available in all 50 states. Availability and terms vary by state, property, and lender.
Know your exit before you know your rate.
Tell us the situation and the timeline. If a bridge loan is the wrong tool for it, you will be told that plainly before you pay for anything.