CRE Bridge in Santa Barbara

Two structurally different lanes, and they call for different plans. The South Coast (Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria) is a repositioning and mixed-use story around the waterfront and the Funk Zone corridor, while North County (Santa Maria, Lompoc) runs on ag-industrial space tied to Santa Maria and Lompoc valley agriculture. Santa Maria is also the county's largest city by a wide margin and its only city of any size still growing, which matters for a hold-and-lease-up plan in the north. See the CRE bridge program. Subject to underwriting.

More than one approval, and the city's Growth Management ceiling caps how much of the building can even change use. Most lots may convert or add only 1,000 square feet of nonresidential floor area (an extra 2,000 in the Downtown Development Area); above that a Development Plan and design review are required, and above 3,000 square feet the Planning Commission has to sign off. Converting more than one residential unit to hotel use separately triggers a Hotel Conversion Permit, and converting an occupied unit triggers the Tenant Displacement Assistance Ordinance: a 60-day Notice of Intent and certified monetary assistance to eligible households before the permit even issues. Size the bridge term to survive that stack of approvals, not just the construction schedule. Talk to your land use counsel before you lock a timeline.

Yes, and it runs on its own discretionary timeline. Inside the City of Santa Barbara's Coastal Overlay Zone (S-D-3) a Coastal Development Permit is required under Title 28, a separate code from the Title 30 process that governs the rest of the city. Certification of a local coastal program amendment is a discretionary outcome, not a formality: the Coastal Commission has rejected county-level amendments before. Build that second track into the bridge timeline rather than assuming the local permit is the only approval standing between you and stabilization. See the CRE bridge program.

Two different anchors, and both point away from a purely cyclical bet. Santa Maria and Lompoc valley agriculture is a real, ongoing tenant base for ag-processing and light-industrial space, and Lompoc sits next to Vandenberg Space Force Base, a federal anchor that gives the area a non-cyclical tenant pool the South Coast does not have. We do not have a sourced headcount or launch cadence for Vandenberg to put a number on that anchor, so treat it as a qualitative factor in your underwriting, not a stat to build a pro forma on.

Not from us, and be wary of anyone who hands you a countywide number with confidence. We have not sourced county or city CRE vacancy, rent, or cap-rate data for any asset class in Santa Barbara County, so we do not publish one. Underwrite your exit off your own broker's current comps and your own operating pro forma for the specific asset, not off a generic county figure. That is the honest position, not a gap in the loan program.

Once the asset is stabilized, we refinance you out of the bridge and into long-term permanent debt, which we also place in house. Exit friction on a sale instead is close to nothing here: the documentary transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000 countywide, with no city add-on anywhere in the county, including the chartered cities of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and Solvang. On a $1,848,325 South Coast sale that runs about $2,033, roughly 0.11% of price, a fraction of what an investor coming from a market with a mansion-style transfer tax would expect. Talk to your CPA about your specific closing costs.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.