Traditional vs. Bridge Financing For My New Deal

[Nick Hakim]

Hey BP -

I'm in contract to purchase a mixed use property in Northern New Jersey and I have a question for all of you lending guru's out there. As is, I'm purchasing the property at a 6.5% cap, but upon lease up of the vacant commercial space (which is not in need of any repair, renovation or capex), the property will be operating at a stabilized 10.5% cap within a few months of purchase. Since the delta between the in place and stabilized cap rate is relatively significant, would you recommend seeking a bridge loan to finance the property until stabilization, and then seek conventional financing? Given that there is only one space to lease up, and I negotiated the ability to market the space during the contract period, do you think traditional lenders will give pushback if I seek traditional financing initially? 

Some facts:

Purchase Price: $1,030,000

Desired LTV: 65-70%

Cap Rate @ Purchase: 6.5%

DSCR @ Purchase (70%LTV): 1.53

Stabilized Cap: 10.5%

Stabilized DSCR: 2.69

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Nick

[Andrew Beauchemin]

Hi @Nick Hakim, putting myself in the shoes of the conventional lender, I'd want to see a solid track record of the stabilized operation before committing to a loan, at least 6-12 months.  Unless you have the cash or collateral to back the vacancy period, it may be difficult to get a good rate from a traditional lender on speculation alone.  

Shoot me an email if you'd like to discuss in more detail.