Bridge Loan
December 5, 2009
Bridge loan is also known as caveat loan. It is known as bridging loan in UK. Some times Bridge loan is also known as Swing loan. This is a type of short-term loan typically taken out for duration of 2 weeks to 3 years. This is used as an interim arrangement while people make arrangement for long-term loans or lager financing.
It is a method of interim financing for businesses or individuals until they can obtain next stage of financing or larger permanent financing. Money obtained from larger or long-term financing is usually used to payoff bridge loans and also other needs of capitalization. Bridge loans are more expensive and costly compared to conventional loans and financial methods so as to compensate the additional risks involved in the loan. They are generally structured at simple interest loans where principal is due in full amounts after maturity. They are not balance sheet or credit driven and they are underwritten based only on equity.
Bridge loans have higher points, interest rates and costs that are amortized for short periods. They also include other fees and attractive sweeteners like lenders participating in equities in some loans. The lender may sometimes require even lower loan to value ratio and cross collateralization. Bridge loans are easy to get as they have very little documentation work involved and are arranged at a quicker and faster rate. People should know exactly where they can get bridge loans because normally people don’t have time to find one when in necessity.
Bridge financing is types of financing, which are used to maintain liquidity at a time when people wait for reasonably, expect a quick inflow of cash. This type of financing is used with cash inflow expectations with a sale of assets. The expectations are based on the cash outlay that has been done for the purchase of an asset.
Corporates and companies before going for initial public offer can also use some types of bridge financing. Corporate Use Bridge financing to obtain cash that is necessary for the maintenance of operations. Companies get these funds, which are supplied, with the help of investment bank underwriting the new issue.
In the bridge lending space Wall Street, banks and other large institutional lenders are not very effective. They are extremely bureaucratic and are highly regulated. Before a conventional lender can arrange bridge loan the opportunity would have disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Such is the competition present in this market. So bridge financing should be arranged quickly and also should be closed in a quick manner as it involves what is known as time sensitive lending.
Developers, investors and conventional real estate property owners must and should pay for the efficiency and speed the bridge lenders provide. Bridge capital rates starts at a rate of 10% and it can increase up to 15% or more depending on the perceived risk involved in the loan. The commercial real estate lending business is very large and is extremely attractive with volumes going up to hundreds and billions of dollars.
Tags: bank, cash, collateral, credit, interest rates, liquidity, loan, market, money, riskComments
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