Bridge Loans Los Angeles
Los Angeles is one of the best markets in the country for bridge financing — not because it’s the easiest, but because the buyer situations that bridge loans solve are everywhere here. Buyers moving from Culver City to Pacific Palisades. Families upgrading from Silver Lake to Los Feliz when the right property comes up. Executives relocating from the Valley to the Westside. All of them face the same problem: the equity is in the home they’re leaving, but the purchase needs to happen before the sale closes. Bridge loans are how that gets done without selling into a time crunch.
I’m Michael DiVita, owner of DiVita Home Finance. Licensed in California since 2007. I have wholesale lender relationships for bridge financing across all of Los Angeles County — from Silver Lake at $1.2M to Hidden Hills at $8M.
How LA Bridge Loans Work
A bridge loan advances a portion of your departing property’s equity — typically up to 75–80% of value minus the existing mortgage — as short-term capital you use for a down payment on your new home. You’re carrying both properties for a period of 6 to 12 months while your current home is listed and sold. At sale, the bridge balance is paid off, often leaving you with additional equity to apply wherever you choose.
LA prices mean the equity positions and bridge amounts are large. A buyer in Brentwood moving up from a $2.2M home to a $3.5M home might bridge $600K–$800K for 6 months. At bridge rates, the cost is real — but so is the alternative: losing a specific Brentwood property to a buyer who wasn’t contingent, or selling your current home in 30 days at a discount to free up capital quickly.
LA Bridge Loan Programs
- Standard Equity Bridge — interest-only, 6–12 month term, advances up to 75% of departing home value. Most common structure for LA buyers.
- Jumbo Bridge Loans — for transactions in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, and other premium LA markets where both properties are over $3M.
- Buy Before You Sell — structured programs that simplify the process and have defined cost structures. Better for buyers who want cost certainty over the bridge period.
- Non-QM Bridge Products — for buyers with complex income (entertainment industry, self-employed, business owners) where standard bridge underwriting creates friction.
Bridge Loan FAQ — Los Angeles
Is a bridge loan the right move in LA’s current market?
It depends on your equity position, the neighborhood you’re buying into, and how competitive the specific property is. In high-demand LA neighborhoods where clean non-contingent offers win consistently, a bridge that lets you remove the sale contingency is often the difference between getting the home and losing it. In slower-moving markets within LA, the contingency may not be as costly. The other factor is your departing home’s salability — if your current home will sell in 30–60 days at list price, the bridge window is short and the cost is manageable. Call me and I’ll give you a frank assessment of whether bridging makes sense for your specific situation.
I’m in the entertainment industry with variable income. Can I still qualify for a bridge loan in LA?
Bridge loan qualification is more asset-based than income-based — lenders are primarily looking at the equity in your departing property and the value of your new property, not just your income. That said, you do need to show you can service the debt. For entertainment industry clients with variable income, I work with portfolio and non-QM lenders who are comfortable with W-2 + residual income structures, backend-heavy compensation, and business owner income from production companies or loan-outs. LA has enough entertainment industry buyers that our lenders understand the income profiles. Call me with your income structure and I’ll identify the right bridge lender.
How quickly can you close a bridge loan in LA if I’m in an active offer situation?
For a well-documented file, bridge loans can close in 2–3 weeks from signed purchase contract. What drives speed is how fast you can get me: the appraisal on your departing home (or recent comp data if we use a desktop appraisal), your mortgage statement, income documentation, and the new purchase contract. I’ll tell you exactly what I need and in what order to keep the timeline moving. If you’re making an offer contingent on 21-day close, call me before you write it so we can validate the timeline is realistic.
Talk to Michael Directly
DiVita Home Finance | Marin County, CA | Licensed since 2007. DRE #01818285 | NMLS #323700.
💬 Text: (310) 849-9124
