Question 1

What's actually driving commercial demand around Fort Lauderdale right now?

Accepted Answer

Port Everglades, and the numbers back it up. In fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025) the port generated $48.3 billion in economic activity, supported 295,166 jobs statewide including 13,139 direct jobs, moved a record 1.167 million TEUs of cargo, and handled a record 4.7 million cruise passengers. That's a genuine, quantified anchor for warehouse, marine-services and hospitality-adjacent commercial deals near the port. One caution: the port's own release also reports economic impact up 72 percent year over year, but it says plainly that jump is mostly a methodology change (newly counting energy-related impacts), not organic growth, so we don't use that growth figure to size a deal. We don't have published Fort Lauderdale office, industrial or retail vacancy and cap rate data, so a bridge here gets underwritten on your rent roll and business plan, not a market average. See the CRE bridge program for structure, and we place the takeout in our own CRE permanent book when the asset stabilizes.

Question 2

Does Broward's litigation climate change how a commercial bridge loan gets priced here?

Accepted Answer

It's a real input, and it's a regulator's own number, not an anecdote. Florida's insurance regulator reports that the Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade region had 27.27 percent of property claims litigated as of the March 2026 reporting period, against 8.16 percent everywhere else in Florida, out of 1,687,888 property policies in force in the tri-county region. That litigation rate feeds directly into insurance cost and claim friction, which we price into carry. Separately, every Florida foreclosure, commercial included, runs through the circuit court under the state's judicial foreclosure process, which is slower than a non-judicial state and gets priced into the term regardless of county.

Question 3

Why do lenders scrutinize Fort Lauderdale's older coastal condo and multifamily buildings before financing a reposition?

Accepted Answer

Because two Florida statutes now force the deferred maintenance onto the balance sheet, and the price data shows it. Condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories high must complete a milestone inspection at 30 years old, and a structural integrity reserve study was due by December 31, 2025 for associations formed on or before mid-2022; boards can no longer waive reserves for the items that study covers. Broward has a large stock of aging low-rise and mid-rise coastal condo buildings that hit both requirements at once, and Broward condo values are down 19.6 percent from their January 2024 peak and still falling 8.4 percent year over year, the steepest decline of the three South Florida counties, against single-family down only 2.9 percent. That's residential pricing data, not a commercial cap rate, but it's the clearest signal we have that unresolved inspection, reserve or special-assessment issues on a building can also choke off conventional and agency exit financing on a repositioned asset. Get the milestone and SIRS status of any Fort Lauderdale condo or co-op building before you underwrite the exit.

Question 4

Do I need High Velocity Hurricane Zone construction on a Fort Lauderdale commercial rehab?

Accepted Answer

Yes, on every opening, roof and shutter line item. Broward and Miami-Dade are the only two counties in Florida's High Velocity Hurricane Zone, the strictest wind-design and product-approval regime in the state building code, and it governs new construction and replacement work alike, not just homes. We don't have a sourced cost premium for building or rehabbing to HVHZ standard versus the rest of Florida, so we won't quote you a percentage; budget it into your scope with your contractor and get your product approvals lined up early, since it changes the spec, not just the price.

Question 5

Does Broward County charge the Miami-Dade transfer tax surtax on a commercial deal?

Accepted Answer

No, and this is a real cost difference, not a technicality. Broward pays Florida's standard documentary stamp rate: 70 cents per $100 of consideration on the deed, and 35 cents per $100 on the note and the mortgage. Miami-Dade alone runs a different structure, a 60 cent base plus a 45 cent discretionary surtax on the deed. Don't budget a Miami-Dade transfer cost into a Broward closing, on a bridge deal or a double close.

Question 6

What can a commercial bridge loan be used for?

Accepted Answer

Bridge capital is for repositioning or stabilizing a commercial property before permanent financing: value-add, lease-up, a partner buyout, or pulling equity out through a cash-out. We lend across property types on terms up to 24 to 36 months, with loans up to $10M.

Question 7

What rates, leverage, and terms should I expect?

Accepted Answer

Our commercial bridge pricing starts around 9%, interest-only, up to roughly 75% loan-to-value, on terms up to 24 to 36 months. Published bridge pricing generally runs 8% to 12% with 1 to 3 points. Final terms depend on the asset, the business plan, and sponsor strength.

Question 8

How fast can a commercial bridge loan close?

Accepted Answer

Commercial deals usually close in 2 to 4 weeks. They take a little longer than residential because of the appraisal, the rent roll and operating-statement review, and any third-party reports. We move as fast as the diligence allows and keep one point of contact on your file.

Question 9

Do I need positive cash flow (DSCR) to qualify?

Accepted Answer

Not necessarily at closing. Bridge loans are often underwritten interest-only to the as-stabilized business plan rather than a minimum in-place DSCR, since the property is being repositioned. We do want to see a credible path to stabilization and enough in-place income or reserves to carry the loan.

Question 10

What documents do you need for a commercial bridge request?

Accepted Answer

Typically the purchase contract or current debt, a rent roll and trailing-12-month operating statement, your business plan and renovation budget, and sponsor financials. Larger assets may also need a property condition report and an environmental review. We will give you a clear checklist up front.

Question 11

Is the loan recourse, and is cash-out available?

Accepted Answer

Most bridge loans are recourse with a personal guarantee, while lower-leverage non-recourse can be possible on stronger assets. Cash-out is available when there is equity to support it. We structure recourse and leverage around the specific deal.

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