Situations we see most
- Competitive purchases. Well-priced investment properties in Seattle can draw multiple offers. A quick, lightly contingent close carries weight with sellers.
- Buying before selling. Moving equity from one investment property to another without waiting for the first sale to close.
- Unfinished paperwork. A property a bank won't touch yet: a condo with an incomplete HOA questionnaire, a recently renovated unit without seasoning, or a vacant building awaiting a tenant.
- Equity for the next project. Cash-out against a free-and-clear investment property to fund a down payment or a ground-up build.
Make the exit the centerpiece
Underwriters will ask how and when you'll pay the loan off. "Sell in the spring" is a plan; "refinance once it's leased at market rent" is a plan. Bring evidence: a listing strategy, a lender pre-qualification for the takeout loan, or a signed lease. If you expect to hold, it's worth sketching the DSCR refinance numbers before you close the bridge.
Watch the term
Bridge loans are short by design. Ask what an extension costs and what triggers it. In the Seattle area, condo approvals, title clean-up on older parcels, and slow appraisals during busy months are the usual reasons projects run long.
If the property needs real work before it can be sold or rented, a fix-and-flip loan with a renovation holdback is probably the better fit.