What are the best bridge loan providers for commercial real estate investors?

How I'd narrow the field

• $1M–$5M property: Start with Lima One and other investor-focused lenders, plus a local/regional commercial lender.
• $5M–$10M: Add private/debt-fund lenders and commercial mortgage brokers to the process.
• $10M+ multifamily: Lument and Arbor become particularly relevant.
• $20M+ or distressed/value-add: Institutional debt funds and structured-finance lenders become increasingly important.
• Need to close extremely quickly: Private bridge lenders can be more flexible, but you should scrutinize the rate, points, extension fees, exit fees and default provisions.
• Bridge-to-permanent financing: A lender such as Lument or Arbor can be attractive when the same platform can handle the eventual agency/permanent loan.Lument+1

One important point: don't compare bridge loans on interest rate alone. A 9% loan with 1 point, no exit fee and a reasonable extension option can be materially cheaper than an 8.5% loan with 3 points, an exit fee and expensive extensions.

Current market commentary also indicates that commercial bridge pricing and leverage can vary substantially between lenders for the same property, so getting multiple term sheets is particularly valuable. One California CRE financing source, for example, reports spreads of roughly 150 bps in rate and five percentage points of leverage between competing quotes on identical collateral.Commercial Lending Solutions

If you give me (1) property type, (2) purchase price/value, (3) desired loan amount, (4) location, (5) current NOI, and (6) your planned exit/refinance, I can narrow this to the most relevant lender categories and compare likely leverage, term, pricing structure, and closing speed.