Flexible commercial bridge loans across Washington property types.
Access equity or finance a project before permanent financing. Flexible commercial bridge across property types, up to $10M, with terms up to 24 to 36 months, interest-only. Washington's cost structure on a bridge exit is graduated excise tax plus property tax at full value, and the foreclosure rules treat a commercial loan differently from a consumer one. Business-purpose only, and every structure is set in underwriting.
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.
How does Washington treat a commercial loan differently in default?
It takes the consumer machinery off the front end and leaves the 190-day floor on. RCW 61.24.005(6) defines a commercial loan as a loan not made primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, which is what a business-purpose bridge loan is even on residential collateral. RCW 61.24.031(7)(a) then excludes commercial loans from the pre-foreclosure notice and meet-and-confer section, so the 120-day letter track does not apply and the 90-day notice of trustee's sale governs. RCW 61.24.165(2) excludes commercial loans from Foreclosure Fairness Act mediation, and separately excludes property vested in a partnership, corporation, or LLC at the time of the notice of default. What does not move is RCW 61.24.040(12): no sale less than 190 days from the date of default, commercial loans included. Everything here describes the statute, not a term of any loan; how a lender proceeds is a matter for counsel.
Can a commercial borrower in Washington argue the rate is usurious?
No, on two independent grounds. RCW 19.52.080 says corporations, trusts, associations, general and limited partnerships, joint ventures and governments may not plead the defense of usury at all, and that individuals may not plead it if the transaction was primarily for agricultural, commercial, investment, or business purposes. The only express carve-back is a consumer transaction, defined as one primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. For reference, RCW 19.52.020(1) sets the general ceiling at the higher of 12% per annum or four points over the average 26-week Treasury bill rate from the auction month before the rate was set. We are not quoting a USAM rate here; pricing on any bridge loan is set in underwriting. Both belts matter to how a commercial bridge is documented, which is a conversation for your attorney.
What does Washington's excise tax cost on a bridge exit?
On a large asset, it is a top-band number. The graduated state rates are 1.10% up to $525,000, 1.28% to $1,525,000, 2.75% to $3,025,000, and 3.00% above $3,025,000, with a $5 state technology fee per transfer and a possible 0.25% local levy plus another 0.25% in Growth Management Act jurisdictions. A commercial sale well above $3,025,000 pays the low bands on the lower slices and 3.00% on everything above, so the blended rate climbs toward 3% as the price rises, before local add-ons. Agricultural land and timberland are a flat 1.28% at any price. Model that into the takeout, not just into the purchase. The thresholds are readjusted every fourth year and 2026 is an adjustment year, so verify DOR before you commit to numbers that live into 2027, and confirm the local rate for the city. Who bears REET at closing is a contract question for your attorney; we have not verified the custom.
How do Washington property taxes affect a value-add hold?
They reprice with the asset, because there is no cap. RCW 84.40.030(1) requires all property to be valued at 100% of true and fair value, and Washington has no assessment-increase cap. If your business plan works, the assessment tends to follow. The often-quoted 1% figure is a levy limit on districts, not a cap on a bill: RCW 84.55.010 restricts a district's regular levy growth to the lesser of 101% or 100% plus inflation under RCW 84.55.005(2), and individual bills can still move faster when values shift between parcels or voters approve levies. If a valuation looks wrong, the petition to the county board of equalization is due by July 1 of the assessment year, or within 30 days of the value-change notice, or within a county window of up to 60 days, whichever is later. Counties set their own windows, so confirm yours. For submarket conditions see the metro page, for example Seattle CRE bridge or Tacoma.
If my bridge asset is residential rental, does the rent cap bind the business plan?
Almost certainly yes, unless the building is new. RCW 59.18.700 caps annual increases on covered residential tenancies at 7% plus CPI or 10%, whichever is less, with no increase in the first 12 months of a tenancy. Commerce publishes the figure: 9.683% for 2026 and 10% for 2027. The exemptions an investor actually gets are the 12-year window from the first certificate of occupancy and vacancy decontrol, which lets you reset rent to market after a tenant leaves. That second one is the one a lease-up or a repositioning plan usually runs on. Do not model a mark-to-market on sitting tenants unless the building qualifies, and do not assume a rehab restarts the 12-year clock, because no guidance says it does. Subject to underwriting.
How large a Washington bridge loan can you do, and for how long?
Up to $10,000,000, up to 75% LTV, on terms running up to 24 to 36 months, interest-only. That window is meant to cover a lease-up, a repositioning, or the wait for a permanent takeout, and the interest-only structure keeps the carry as light as the plan allows. Size the term against the excise tax and the reassessment on the exit, both of which are real in Washington. Subject to underwriting.
What credit score do I need for a Washington bridge loan?
There is no minimum score on this program. Bridge is asset-based, so credit carries far less weight than it would at a bank. The file turns on the asset, the business plan and the exit. Weaker credit is usually answered with lower leverage rather than a decline, and there is no hard credit pull to start. Subject to underwriting.
More CRE Bridge questions, answered on the program 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 2026-08-12.
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