Bridge Loan Rates
AAPL Member · Direct Lender Since 2016 · NMLS #1979189
A bridge loan’s rate looks high next to a 30-year mortgage and almost irrelevant next to the deal it lets you capture. That’s the right way to think about it: a bridge loan is a tool you hold for a few months to solve a timing problem, so its rate is the price of speed and flexibility, and its total cost is usually small relative to the opportunity. Bridge loan rates are priced on the property, your leverage, and the strength of your exit — and they move with the broader rate environment. This page explains what sets your number and why the short hold changes how you should weigh it. We’ve priced bridge loans as a direct lender since 2016.
The Short Hold Changes the Math
Because a bridge loan is typically interest-only and held only a few months — until you sell or refinance — the total interest you pay is modest even at a higher rate. An investor who uses a bridge loan to win a deal they’d otherwise lose, or to buy before selling, is buying time, and that time is usually worth far more than the carry. Model it on our hard money loan estimator: the all-in cost over your real hold period is the number that matters, not the annualized rate in isolation.
Rate, Points, and Term
Your cost has the same two components as any short-term loan: the interest rate (interest-only on the balance) and points (a one-time origination fee). On a short bridge, points weigh relatively more, so compare offers on rate and points together over your expected hold. Term runs roughly 3 to 24 months, and because the entire value of a bridge is timing, confirm the prepayment terms — you don’t want a minimum-interest charge that outlasts a fast exit. Ask up front so your cost matches your timeline.
What Drives Your Rate
The exit comes first: a clean, near-term, well-supported exit (a listed property, a clear refinance) is lower-risk and prices better than an open-ended one. Leverage matters — a lower LTV against the property’s value earns a better rate, and more equity in the position helps. The property itself factors in, since a straightforward, liquid asset prices better than a complex one. Credit plays a part — there’s no minimum, but stronger credit improves pricing. And the market sets the baseline, as pricing tracks the broader interest-rate environment. The requirements page details what we look at — and the exit plan, more than anything, shapes both approval and price.
When a Different Product Prices Better
A bridge loan is the right tool for a timing gap. If your need is a straightforward purchase-and-rehab, a hard money or fix and flip loan may price and structure better; if it’s a long-term hold, a DSCR loan is the lower-cost permanent answer. We’ll tell you when a bridge isn’t the cheapest way to solve your problem. You can also compare the broader short-term side on our hard money loan rates today page.
What Affects Your Bridge Rate
What Affects Your Bridge Rate
Frequently Asked Questions
They vary by deal and move with the rate environment, so there’s no single number worth posting. Your rate depends on the strength of your exit, your leverage, the property, and your credit. Because the hold is short, focus on total cost over your actual timeline rather than the annualized rate.
A bridge loan trades a higher rate for speed, flexibility, and short-term, interest-only payments. You’re paying for the ability to close fast and solve a timing problem, and since you hold it only a few months, the total interest is small relative to the deal it enables.
Your exit. Because a bridge loan is short-term and exit-driven, a clean, near-term, well-supported payoff — a listed property or a clear refinance — is the lower-risk profile that earns the best pricing. A vague exit prices higher, if it’s approvable at all.
Both, together, over your expected hold. On a short bridge, points — a one-time origination fee — weigh relatively more than they would on a long loan, so a low rate with high points can cost more overall than the reverse.
Typically 3 to 24 months, sized to your timing gap. It’s short-term by design and meant to be repaid by your sale or refinance. Confirm prepayment terms so a fast exit isn’t penalized by a long minimum-interest charge.
Want a real number on your bridge?
Tell us the property, your equity, and your exit. We price our own bridge loans and map the payoff before funding — and we’ll tell you if another product costs less.