Commercial Bridge Loans in Knoxville, TN —
Our Capital, Our Decision
Short-term, business-purpose financing on multifamily, retail, and commercial investment property in East Tennessee. We're a direct balance-sheet lender, not a broker — Chris and Flynt underwrite your deal, price it, and fund it, with no capital partner or committee above them. Rates from 9.99%, 2–3 points, from $50,000, on 9-month terms. Standard closings run 10–14 days.
- Multifamily to ~40 units
- No tax returns or W-2s
- No full appraisal on most deals
- Cross-collateral available
★★★★★ 30 five-star Google reviews · 300+ loans and $53M+ funded since 2021 · 65% repeat borrowers
When a commercial bridge loan fits
Real property, a real timeline, and a bank that's either too slow or too particular about the asset.
The version we see most: a buyer gets a small apartment building under contract near downtown Knoxville. It's an older brick property that needs updated fire suppression or mechanicals before a bank will lend on it. The seller wants to close in three weeks. A conventional lender can't underwrite that asset in that window, and wouldn't want the condition anyway. That's the gap this loan covers.
- You have a commercial or multifamily property under contract with a firm closing date
- A bank declined the deal, or can't move fast enough to hit your deadline
- The property needs work or repositioning before it qualifies for permanent financing
- You have equity or a strong basis, but your credit or income doesn't fit a bank's box
- Your previous lender backed out and you need someone who can actually close
- The property sits in a small town or tertiary market a bank won't underwrite
On credit — it matters, and we'll say so plainly. What we're reading is whether you generally meet your obligations. A one-time event you can explain, a medical situation or a hard year, doesn't sink a file. A sustained pattern of missed obligations is a different conversation, and we'd rather have it honestly on the first call.
What we fund, and what we don't
Because we lend our own money, we decide case by case instead of running it past a committee.
We fund
- Multifamily up to roughly 30 to 40 units, including older properties needing work
- Retail and commercial buildings with a clear use and a clear exit
- Repositioning plays where the asset doesn't yet qualify for permanent debt
- Deals where the numbers work but the borrower doesn't fit a bank's box
- Situations where cross-collateral pulls a marginal deal across the line
- Small-town and tertiary-market property most lenders decline on population alone
We don't fund
- Raw land with no income-producing structure
- Mobile home parks
- RV parks
- Owner-occupied property — we're a business-purpose lender
- Ground-up multifamily construction (single-family construction only, Tennessee)
Those exclusions are absolute. There's no cross-collateral workaround on land, mobile home parks, or RV parks, and we'll tell you that on the first call rather than let you find out three weeks in.
Knoxville has a deep stock of small apartment buildings — older brick fourplexes and six-unit properties around Fort Sanders near UT and the neighborhoods ringing downtown. They were built decades ago, they need updated systems, and their age and condition is precisely what makes conventional lenders walk. It's also what makes them a repositioning opportunity, which is the kind of deal we look at closely. Loans start at $50,000 with no stated ceiling; the sweet spot is small to mid-size property where speed matters more than the lowest possible cost of capital.
How the loan is priced and structured
Priced to the deal in front of us — there's no rate sheet on a wall here.
Rates run 9.99% to 12.99% with 2–3 points on a 9-month interest-only term, from $50,000. That's the real range, not a teaser. Five things move you inside it:
- Property type and location — a stabilized multifamily building prices differently than a vacant retail strip
- Credit history — room for a one-time explained event, not for a pattern
- Investor experience — your track record on comparable deals
- Income and the cash flow the property produces, or will produce once repositioned
- Leverage requested — the more of the deal you're asking us to carry
When a deal is close but doesn't quite stand on its own, cross-collateralizing equity in another property you own can bridge the gap and take total leverage as high as 100%. Institutional lenders selling into the secondary market can't offer that. We can, because the money is ours. We've closed plenty of deals this way that an institutional shop would have declined outright.
The commitment letter is the closing table
We won't quote a number on the phone and change it at closing. When Chris or Flynt puts terms in a commitment letter, that's what shows up at settlement — the only exception being a situation materially different from what was represented. No re-trading the deal in week two, because there's no capital partner above us who could force it.
Draws on a repositioning project
Commercial repositioning runs in phases — unit by unit, floor by floor. Every draw delay compounds down the schedule.
What a commercial draw usually involves
- Itemized invoices for the completed phase
- Signed lien releases from every trade
- A third-party inspector scheduled to the property
- Three to five business days of waiting, longer in the busy season
- Crews released to another job while the draw clears
What a draw involves with us
- Finish a phase on your renovation schedule
- Walk it on video — no formal report
- Reviewed by Chris or Flynt, usually same day
- Funded the next business day
- No inspector, no invoices, no lien releases
The person reviewing your draw video is the person who approved your loan. Nobody is waiting on a committee two states away. Chris and Flynt are active investors themselves, which is why the process is built around the thing that actually costs you money on a repositioning — losing a crew you can't easily rebook.
When a bridge loan isn't the right tool
We'd rather say so on the first call than take a deal that shouldn't be ours.
- You already have a low long-term rate locked in and you're simply holding. You'd be paying points and a higher rate for speed you don't need.
- You have six months and no deadline pressure. If conventional financing is available to you, it will cost less over time. We're not going to talk you into short-term money.
- You're still shopping the property. Bridge financing works against a signed contract, a firm deadline, or a lender who just backed out. Mid-negotiation with months to go is too early.
- The asset is land, a mobile home park, or an RV park. Off the table every time.
- You need permanent debt, not a bridge. A 9-month term is the wrong shape for a long hold — though we can facilitate a longer-term takeout through our referral network once the asset is stabilized.
If none of that describes you, that's the borrower this loan was built for. One conversation will tell you which side of the line you're on.
Investors on closing with us
All 30 of our Google reviews are five stars.
"They lend their own money so they can be quick and nimble when funding your project."
— Peter Amrein"Working directly with decision makers is invaluable when it comes to lenders."
— David Maier"Approach is a top notch hard money lender who was able to make my deal work when my other lender couldn't."
— Matt LuffmanCommercial bridge loan questions
Got a commercial deal on a clock?
Call and talk to the people who decide. One conversation tells you whether we can fund it, what it costs, and how fast we can get to the table.
(865) 999-8083