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Program 04

CRE Bridge in Bellingham

Commercial bridge loans for Bellingham value-add and repositioning deals.

Access equity or finance a project before permanent financing. We fund CRE bridge loans up to $10M, up to 75% LTV, interest-only, on terms up to 24 to 36 months, structured as bridge or cash-out. In Whatcom County that covers an institutional tenant base anchored by Western Washington University and PeaceHealth St. Joseph, the two Ferndale-area refineries, and border-facing retail and storage in Blaine and Sumas. Business-purpose only, terms set in underwriting.

CRE Bridge in Bellingham, WA from USA Mortgage
$10M
max loan
24-36 mo
terms
All types
property
Cash-out
available

Typical figures, subject to underwriting and market conditions. Not a commitment to lend.

How it works

Use bridge capital to reposition an asset, buy out a partner, or stabilize before a refinance. We move quickly on commercial deals that banks find too time-sensitive. When the asset is stabilized, we refinance you out of the bridge and into long-term permanent debt, which we also place in house, so you have a clear exit from day one.

Who it's for
Value-add commercial real estate
Repositioning and lease-up
Partner buyouts
Pre-stabilization holds
Typical terms
Loan amountUp to $10M
Max leverageUp to 75% LTV
TermUp to 24 to 36 months
RateFrom 9.00%*
PaymentsInterest-only
StructureBridge or cash-out
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*Typical terms, subject to underwriting and market conditions.

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Local FAQ

CRE Bridge in Bellingham, answered.

Why would a stabilized Ferndale-area asset suddenly need bridge debt instead of a refinance?
Because the tax line moved more than most 2025 underwriting assumed. Fire District 7, which covers the Ferndale and north-county area, raised its levy 57.7% for 2026, and the consolidated rate in that tax code area rose from 7.4633517797 to 8.1917869318 per $1,000, up 9.8% in one year. Debt service coverage modeled on a 2025 tax bill can break on that line alone before rent or vacancy move at all. A repositioning plan built to survive that reset, rather than a permanent loan sized to last year's number, is a bridge deal. See the CRE permanent loan for the eventual takeout. Subject to underwriting.
What kind of commercial property actually transacts in Whatcom County?
Mostly institutional and industrial, not speculative office. Six of the county's top nine employers are Western Washington University (4,091 employees), PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center (3,728), the Lummi Nation (1,698), Bellingham Public Schools (1,669), the City of Bellingham (1,124), and Whatcom County government (1,007), which makes medical office, university-adjacent, and public-sector-serving space the steady end of the market: low volatility, slow rent growth. Total nonfarm employment has held flat at 96,300 to 96,700 since 2023. Industrial concentrates in the Cherry Point and Ferndale corridor, where BP Cherry Point ran 238,500 barrels per calendar day and Phillips 66 Ferndale ran 105,000 as of January 2026. That composition, not a downtown office tower, is what a Bellingham commercial pro forma should assume. Talk to us about your specific asset. Subject to underwriting.
Is Bellingham's new zoning code changing what a value-add deal looks like?
Yes, and the permit record already shows it. Bellingham updated its development code on 2025-12-08 to comply with the state's middle-housing and ADU laws, and the city permitted 422 units in buildings of five or more units in 2025, up from 230 in 2024, while duplex and three-to-four-unit permits went from 34 and 10 units in 2024 to 58 and 26 in 2025. That means densifying, repositioning, and lease-up inventory is now trading in a market where the zoning underneath it changed within the year. Read the adopted ordinance before you underwrite a units-per-lot assumption on a specific parcel; do not take it from this page. Subject to underwriting.
Should a Ferndale-area deal underwrite around the old Intalco smelter site redeveloping?
No, not as a leasing or absorption assumption. Alcoa permanently closed the Intalco smelter in 2023 after a 2020 curtailment; demolition is under way with the teardown targeted for the end of 2026 and site grading into 2027. AltaGas holds redevelopment rights, and its proposed hydrogen plant is on hold. It is the largest redevelopment parcel in the county and its most uncertain one. Mention it as context if it is near your asset; do not build a rent roll, an absorption schedule, or a construction timeline on it. Tell us about the deal and we will underwrite what is actually there. Subject to underwriting.
How should I underwrite a border-facing commercial property in Blaine, Birch Bay, or Sumas?
Treat the cross-border traffic as stabilizing, not recovering. Inbound personal-vehicle passengers at the three Whatcom County land ports fell from 8,528,451 in 2024 to 6,301,651 in 2025, down 26.1% in one year. Through July 2026, Blaine is running 4.0% ahead of the same seven months of 2025, but still 23.1% below the same period of 2024. Parcel-receiving, storage, and retail near the crossings run directly off that number, so a pro forma should use the stabilized-not-recovered figure, not a 2019 or 2024 baseline. On the cost side, Blaine is one of only two Whatcom County cities whose consolidated tax rate fell for 2026, to 6.8047689201 per $1,000; Everson is the other, and every other named city rose. Subject to underwriting.
How much equity do I need in a Bellingham commercial bridge deal?
At least 25% of value. We go up to 75% LTV and up to $10M, so on a $2,000,000 Whatcom County property that is $1,500,000 from us and $500,000 from you (2,000,000 x 75% = 1,500,000). The loan is interest-only on a term up to 24 to 36 months, structured as a bridge or a cash-out, which is what makes it a repositioning tool rather than a hold. Subject to underwriting.
Does my credit score decide a Bellingham bridge loan?
No, and there is no minimum score on this program. We run credit, but a bridge loan is asset-based: the property, the equity and the exit carry the file. Weaker credit usually means lower leverage rather than a decline. No hard pull to start, and no tax returns or W-2s to qualify. Subject to underwriting.

More CRE Bridge questions, answered on the program page

Resources

Guides for CRE Bridge

Rates & Costs · 5 min read
Hard Money Loan Rates and Costs, Explained
Read the guide
Bridge · 4 min read
What Is a Bridge Loan in Real Estate?
Read the guide
Getting Funded · 4 min read
LTV vs LTC: What's the Difference?
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Getting Funded · 4 min read
How Fast Can a Hard Money Loan Close?
Read the guide
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About the local figures on this page

Local rules move. Every tax rate, fee, ordinance and market figure here comes from a primary source and carries the date we read it, and we correct them as the rules change. Where a number is mid-change or we could not verify it, we say so rather than guess. Before you commit a budget, confirm anything that drives it with the city or county, and talk to your attorney or CPA on questions of law or tax.

Published by USA Mortgage Funding, LLC, NMLS #152588. Researched from primary sources by our team, drafted with AI assistance, and every figure checked against its source before publishing. Where an answer rests on a public record, that record is linked under it. Figures read on 2026-08-22.

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