Florida Multifamily Bridge Loans vs. Permanent Loans
Florida multifamily bridge loans are short-term loans that carry an apartment property through a purchase, renovation or lease-up until its income can support a permanent loan. If your building's income already supports the loan you need, a permanent loan now is usually the better pick, because the bridge path adds a second closing and, unless an exemption applies, a second round of Florida mortgage tax.
Hypothetical example: on a $10,000,000 loan, Florida's documentary stamp and intangible taxes come to $55,000 per closing at the rates in the 2026 Florida Statutes, before any exemption. Pay them twice and that's $55,000 that doesn't go to units, reserves or you.
Key points
- Each new Florida mortgage owes documentary stamp tax (35 cents per $100, uncapped) and a 2-mill intangible tax under the 2026 Florida Statutes, so a bridge-then-refinance plan can pay both twice.
- A purchase resets Florida's 10 percent cap on yearly assessment increases (for levies other than school district levies), so size the take-out loan (the permanent loan that replaces the bridge) on your new tax bill, not the seller's.
- With a regulated lender and a building in a special flood hazard area of a community in the National Flood Insurance Program, federal flood rules apply at the bridge, at any extension and at a take-out from a covered lender.
Florida multifamily bridge loans or a permanent loan: which fits your building?
| Bridge now, permanent later | Permanent loan now | |
|---|---|---|
| Fits when | Income can't support long-term debt yet (renovation, lease-up, low occupancy) | Today's income already supports the loan you need |
| Closings | Two: the bridge and the take-out | One |
| Florida mortgage taxes | On the bridge and again on the take-out, unless an exemption applies | Once |
| Federal flood rule (when it applies) | At the bridge closing, any extension and the take-out | At closing and at any later increase, extension or renewal |
| Rate exposure | If the bridge floats, your payment moves with the index until you refinance | Set by the permanent loan's terms |
| Main risk | Rents, insurance, taxes or rates move against you before the exit | Fewer loan dollars today if current income is thin |
If today's income supports the loan, take the permanent loan, provided its prepayment terms and any renovation limits in its documents fit your plan. A bridge earns its place when the renovation or lease-up should add more value than its interest, its fees and the second Florida tax bill, and the plan still works if rents stay flat. For the trade-offs that apply in any state, see Commercial Real Estate Bridge Loan vs. Permanent Debt.
How much Florida mortgage tax does a second closing add?
Section 201.08 of the 2026 Florida Statutes sets documentary stamp tax on a mortgage recorded in Florida at 35 cents on each $100 of the debt. The Florida Department of Revenue says there is no cap on the amount due on a mortgage, and that all parties to the document are liable for the tax, whoever agrees to pay it.
Section 199.133 adds a one-time nonrecurring intangible tax of 2 mills. The Department calculates it as the amount of the obligation secured by Florida real property times 0.002. The lender is liable for it but may pass it to you.
Hypothetical example: both loans are $10,000,000, fully secured by Florida real property, and every closing is taxed in full with no exemption.
| Hypothetical, $10,000,000 loans | Permanent loan now | Bridge, then permanent |
|---|---|---|
| Documentary stamps ($10,000,000 / $100 x $0.35) | $35,000 | $70,000 |
| Intangible tax ($10,000,000 x 0.002) | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| Total Florida mortgage taxes | $55,000 | $110,000 |
Can the take-out loan avoid the second tax?
Sometimes. Check each tax separately with your Florida closing attorney before you sign the take-out term sheet.
- Documentary stamps. Section 201.09 exempts a renewal that only extends or continues the identical obligations of the original note, on conditions that include signature by the original obligor only and the original note attached. If a renewed term obligation is larger, only the face amount of the increase is taxed. The Department of Revenue also lists documents that substitute a new mortgagee or payee among modifications that are generally not taxable renewals.
- Intangible tax. Section 199.145(4) covers an already-taxed obligation refinanced with the original obligee or its assignee. No additional tax is due if the new principal is no more than the old unpaid principal plus accrued but unpaid interest. Above that, tax is computed on the excess, or on the entire new principal if the original obligor isn't liable under the new obligation. A new lender with no assignment of the bridge loan isn't covered as written.
Budget both taxes at both closings until your attorney confirms an exemption.
What happens to your property tax bill after you buy?
It can jump, whichever loan you choose.
Two Florida statutes limit yearly increases in assessed value to 10 percent of the prior year's assessed value, for levies other than school district levies. Section 193.1554 covers non-homestead residential property with nine or fewer dwelling units, and section 193.1555 covers real property outside the State Constitution's other assessment limits. Your county property appraiser can say which applies.
Both reset the property to just value as of January 1 of the year after a change of ownership or control, which includes any sale and a cumulative transfer of more than 50 percent of the ownership of the entity that owned the property. Section 193.1555 also resets after a "qualifying improvement," a term the statute defines, so ask whether your renovation could meet it.
The seller's bill may reflect years of capped increases. Yours starts at just value, and the higher bill lowers net operating income, which can shrink the take-out. Underwrite it on the reassessed bill.
How do insurance and flood rules change a Florida bridge plan?
Trepp data on securitized Florida multifamily properties, reported by CRE Daily on August 30, 2026, show Florida insurance cost growth peaked at 42.1% in 2023. In 2025 it turned into a 6.2% median year-over-year decline, while the rest of the nation recorded a 3.4% increase. That's a median for securitized properties, so underwrite both loans on the premium you've actually been quoted.
Flood is a separate test. The FDIC's examination manual (chapter last updated November 2023) says a regulated lending institution may not make, increase, extend or renew a loan secured by improved real property in a special flood hazard area without the flood insurance the law requires. It applies where the property's community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The minimum is the lesser of the outstanding principal balance, the program's maximum for the building type ($500,000 for non-condominium residential buildings of five or more units) or the insurable value.
With a covered lender, a bridge extension brings the rule back, and so does a covered take-out. Pull every building's flood zone before you sign.
What does a floating rate add to Florida multifamily bridge loans?
If your bridge floats over SOFR, a higher index raises your payment until you refinance. Get the reset schedule, floor and rate cap terms in writing. SOFR was 3.93% on October 26, 2026, according to the New York Fed.
Hypothetical example: on an unchanged $10,000,000 balance, a loan rate 1 percentage point higher for a full year adds $100,000 of interest, before any rate cap payout.
Rents can soften too. Yardi Matrix's August 5, 2026 report put the Southwest Florida coast among markets where rent growth will be in negative territory this year, so test the exit at flat rents and at lower ones. For more on rents, see Multifamily Bridge Loan: Underwrite the Rents You Can Prove.
How do you compare the two paths for your own deal?
The end result is one number per path, the net cash it leaves you over the same hold, with every cost counted once.
- Use one holding period for both paths (hypothetical example: five years).
- Cash invested: equity at purchase, renovation spending the loan doesn't fund, and closing costs you pay in cash.
- Closing costs at each closing: lender fees, third-party costs and both Florida mortgage taxes, less any exemption your attorney confirms. A cost financed into the loan stays out of step 2; it counts only through the loan balance repaid in steps 6 and 7.
- Debt service: each year's interest plus scheduled principal, counted once. For a floating bridge, use the SOFR measure your documents name plus the lender's spread, apply the floor and cap terms, and run it at today's SOFR and a higher one, plus the cap's cost.
- Operating distributions: each year's operating cash flow before debt service (rents collected less operating expenses, on the reassessed tax bill and your insurance quote, after rent lost while units are down), minus step 4.
- Refinancing proceeds: the take-out's proceeds less the bridge payoff, any exit fee and closing costs paid from proceeds.
- Sale proceeds: estimated value at the end of the hold, less selling costs, the remaining loan balance and any prepayment cost.
For each path, add steps 5 to 7 and subtract step 2. Choose the bridge only if it still wins at flat rents and the higher rate. Then size the take-out on those same stressed numbers. If its proceeds don't cover the bridge payoff and closing costs, the gap is equity you'd have to bring, so know that figure before you sign.
What should you have ready before you call?
Northern Ridge Capital is a debt broker, not a lender, and works on loans from $5 million to $30 million. If you're weighing Florida multifamily bridge loans against a permanent loan, gather your rent roll, trailing operating statement, renovation budget, current insurance quote and each building's flood zone. Then review your Florida bridge loan plan with a broker, and you'll get a read on which path fits your building, with both closings' Florida taxes in the math. Loan terms come from a lender, and no one can promise approval, a rate or a closing date.
FAQ
Is there a cap on Florida documentary stamp tax on a mortgage?
No. The Department of Revenue says there is no cap on the tax due on a mortgage. Its $2,450 cap applies to the tax on a note or other written obligation to pay money.
Who pays the intangible tax on a Florida mortgage?
The lender is the taxpayer liable for it, but the Department of Revenue says the lender may pass the amount to the borrower. Look for it in each term sheet's closing costs.
Do I need flood insurance on a Florida apartment bridge loan?
Federal rules require it when three things are true: your lender is a regulated lending institution, a building sits in a special flood hazard area, and its community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, which is what makes NFIP coverage available there. Then coverage is required when the loan is made, increased, extended or renewed. A lender's own documents can set their own requirements, so ask.
Can I extend a bridge loan instead of refinancing?
Sometimes. An extension option written into your loan documents works on the conditions and fees they set. Without one, an extension is a modification the lender must agree to. Neither is guaranteed, so read the extension terms before you commit to Florida multifamily bridge loans.