Florida has no state income tax, deep short-term rental demand, and sustained in-migration. It also has the most complicated carrying-cost picture of any major investor market in the country. Since 2022, insurance availability and pricing have reshaped what a Florida rental actually costs to hold, and any underwriting that uses a national insurance assumption will be wrong here.
The short answer: A bridge loan is short-term, business-purpose financing that carries an investment property from purchase to its long-term outcome — a refinance, a completed renovation, or a sale. Bridge lenders underwrite the property and the exit rather than employment history, which is why qualifying deals can close in as little as five to ten days, and why some programs waive a full appraisal. In Florida, foreclosure procedure is a live variable in which capital sources participate.
Bridge demand runs heaviest in South Florida and Tampa Bay, where competition for investor inventory rewards certainty of close. Orlando and the Panhandle see bridge used around short-term rental acquisitions. Florida’s judicial foreclosure timeline is the counterweight — it narrows which capital sources will write here relative to Texas or Georgia.
Primary markets: Miami · Fort Lauderdale · Tampa · Orlando · Jacksonville · Fort Myers
Florida is a judicial foreclosure state, so a lender’s remedy runs through the courts. That timeline is materially longer than in a non-judicial state like Texas, and some capital sources price for it while others limit exposure. It is a real factor in which programs are available on Florida collateral.
Speed is the only variable that matters, your exit is already underwritten, and a lender you have closed with before can move immediately.
You need a no-appraisal program, the exit is not yet certain, or the property condition is outside what one lender will bridge on.
No lender is best for every deal. Kiavi, Easy Street Capital, RCN Capital, Lima One, Park Place Finance, New Silver all write bridge loans in Florida and all are legitimate options. They differ on leverage, credit floors, property types and experience requirements. The useful question is which fits this deal.
Works: A seller wants certainty and a fast close, an investor is pulling equity from one property to fund the next, or a renovation needs to bridge to permanent financing.
Does not: There is no defined exit, or the timeline does not justify short-term pricing when conventional financing would close in time anyway.
It can. Judicial foreclosure means a lender’s remedy runs through the courts, and the timeline is materially longer than in a non-judicial state. Some capital sources price that in, others limit Florida exposure. It is one reason a bridge program available in Texas is not automatically available in Florida.
Yes, particularly in Orlando, the Panhandle and the Keys where STR acquisitions compete on speed. The complication is that Florida regulates short-term rentals at the municipal level, so the permitting question needs an answer before the bridge closes — it determines whether the DSCR takeout works at the revenue the deal assumed.
There is no single best lender for every scenario. Kiavi, Easy Street Capital, RCN Capital, Lima One, Park Place Finance, New Silver all write bridge loans and each has different guidelines. The right answer depends on the specific deal. LendingStreet places the same scenario across 30+ capital sources so the comparison happens on one application.
Yes, in all 50 states including Florida. These are business-purpose loans on non-owner-occupied investment property, from $150,000 with no stated maximum. No W-2 or tax returns required and LLC borrowers are welcome.
Have a Florida deal? Tell us the scenario and we will price it across our capital sources.
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