CRE Bridge in Texas

No. Texas commercial is effectively the sum of its metros, and the asset class matters more than the state line. On the industrial side, Dallas-Fort Worth led the entire United States in both supply and demand in the second quarter of 2026, with 17.9 million square feet of year-to-date net absorption against 9.3% vacancy, and Houston added 5.8 million square feet of positive absorption at 7.6% vacancy. Office is the other story: 19.9% vacancy in DFW, 20.6% in Austin, and 27.7% in Houston as of the second quarter of 2026. So office bridge in Texas is a flight-to-quality play on a specific building, not a blanket bet on the state. There is no citable statewide cap rate series, and we would not underwrite to one if there were. We underwrite your rent roll, your leasing budget, and comps on your asset.

Less than you think, and the date is fixed. Texas forecloses non-judicially under Property Code section 51.002. Sales are held between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month at the county courthouse, and on the first Wednesday when the first Tuesday falls on January 1 or July 4. Notice of sale, including the earliest time the sale will begin, has to go out at least 21 days ahead by courthouse posting, a filing with the county clerk, and certified mail to each debtor. The extra 20-day cure notice applies only where the property is the debtor's residence, so on commercial and non-owner-occupied collateral the practical floor from notice to sale is roughly 21 days. That is one auction day a month and about three weeks of warning. Funds have to be committed before the first Tuesday, not after, which is why we would rather tell you straight on day one whether we can hit your date. Talk to your attorney about the specific sale and the title you are taking.

Not on the premium. Texas is one of the few states where the government sets the title rate. Insurance Code section 2703.151 requires the Insurance Commissioner to fix and promulgate title insurance premium rates, so for a given policy amount the basic premium is identical at every title company in Texas. Commissioner's Order No. 2025-9697 cut those basic premium rates 6.2% effective March 1, 2026. TDI's own worked example: a $268,500 policy carries a $1,612 basic premium. What you are actually shopping for is escrow service, endorsements, closing-fee items, and whether the company will handle your entity structure. Budget the premium as a fixed number and spend your negotiating time elsewhere.

Texas trades income tax for property tax, and none of the relief you read about reaches your deal. There is no state individual income tax, and the effective property tax rate runs about 1.2% to 1.4% depending on the county. Property tax is a fixed, non-discretionary carry line on every month of a bridge term, it is set locally, and it does not fall while the asset sits vacant during lease-up. The 2025 relief package is homeowner relief: SB 4 and Proposition 13 raised the school district homestead exemption to $140,000 for the 2026 tax year, and homestead exemptions do not apply to non-owner-occupied investment property. Neither does the homestead appraisal cap, so assessed value on your asset can move with the market year over year and protest season becomes a real carry variable. Underwrite the tax line at reassessed value, not at the seller's current bill, and talk to your CPA or property tax counsel about the specific parcel.

Effective rent, not asking rent. The Dallas Fed reported in 2026 that concessions are widespread across Texas metros, with a higher share of properties offering them in the Texas majors than nationally. Concession levels move quarter to quarter and submarket to submarket, so check what is actually being given away where your asset sits. A pro forma built on advertised rents will overstate income on much of this market, and the gap shows up first in a debt yield test at takeout. Statewide average apartment rent was $1,452 as of July 2026, down about 1% year over year, so the trend is not doing the work for you either. Build the lease-up schedule on net effective rent, size the term for the absorption you actually expect, and let the bridge run 24 to 36 months rather than 12 if the plan needs it.

Because Texas is a non-disclosure state. No statute compels reporting a sale price to the county appraisal district, prices are not recorded on deeds, and you cannot pull them from a county clerk search. Appraisal districts work from voluntary submissions by agents, title companies and owners, plus MLS data obtained by agreement. For commercial and off-market deals in particular, that makes comps genuinely harder to source than in a disclosure state, and it pushes more of the value support onto the appraisal and BPO work. Expect us to underwrite the income and the business plan hard, and expect the valuation step to carry real weight on the file.

At least 25% of value. We lend up to 75% LTV, so on a Texas asset valued at $4,000,000 that is up to $3,000,000 from us and $1,000,000 of your cash or existing equity (4,000,000 x 75% = 3,000,000). The loan is interest-only on a term of up to 24 to 36 months, which matters on a Texas multifamily lease-up where concessions are widespread and absorption is the variable that decides the exit. Subject to underwriting.

Usually not. We run credit, but on a bridge it carries far less weight than at a bank and there is no minimum score on this program. The rent roll, the business plan, and the equity in the asset do the work, and weak credit is normally answered with lower leverage rather than a decline. There is no hard pull to start. On a Texas file expect the valuation step to carry more weight than the credit report, because sale prices are not public here. Subject to underwriting.

$10,000,000. That covers most value-add and lease-up deals in the Texas majors and effectively all of the small-metro inventory. The structure is bridge or cash-out, interest-only, on a term of up to 24 to 36 months. If your plan needs the long end of that range because absorption in your submarket is slow, say so at term sheet rather than buying an extension later. Subject to underwriting.