The Quick Read: A hard money bridge fits a bulk package by funding the purchase on the wholesaler’s contract timeline, then getting paid off by long-term rental financing once the properties qualify for it. The bridge is sized on the assets, the budget, and the exit plan, while the takeout is sized on what the properties prove through appraisal, rent coverage, and time owned.
- A bulk package is several properties bought under one contract, so the package is the unit to analyze, not each house alone.
- Bridge leverage is measured against project cost or purchase price and is capped by value, and terms are short and interest-only.
- The takeout lender uses its own appraisal and its own rent figure, never the investor’s after-repair estimate.
- Pooled financing spreads weak-property risk but ties the properties together, so release terms matter before closing.
- Everything below is subject to lender guidelines and varies by lender, property, and experience. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Disambiguation first. “Wholesaler” here means a real estate wholesaler who puts properties under contract and passes that contract to an end buyer. It does not mean a goods supplier selling pallets of product. The package here is houses, small multifamily, and similar rentals.
What Is a Bulk Package, and How Is It Different From a Single Deal?
A bulk package is a bundle of properties sold under one purchase contract, often with one negotiated price and an allocation of that price across the individual addresses. The buyer takes on several properties, several appraisals, several title searches, and several sets of tenants or vacancies at once.
That changes the analysis. On a single deal, one bad inspection kills one deal. In a package, one bad property can stall the whole closing or drag down a pooled coverage number. Brokers who see a lot of these files learn to ask the same first question: what happens if one address falls out?
Wholesalers package properties for practical reasons. A seller with several houses wants one buyer and one closing. A wholesaler holding several contracts wants one end buyer who can handle volume. The buyer gets a discount for scale, but takes on the weakest property in the group.
How Does the Wholesaler Close It? Assignment vs. Double Close
Wholesale deals usually close one of two ways. In an assignment, the wholesaler transfers the contract to the end buyer for a fee and never takes title. In a double close, the wholesaler buys from the seller and then sells to the end buyer in a second closing, so the wholesaler briefly holds title.
Those paths are not interchangeable. On an assignment, the fee shows on the closing statement for everyone to see. A double close hides the spread.
For the buyer, the lender question matters more than the wholesaler’s fee privacy. Sell to Home Pros notes that double closes get used when the end buyer’s lender won’t fund an assigned contract. If a package is coming by assignment, ask the lender early whether it will fund on that structure, and ask the title company how it handles several assigned contracts at one table.
On a double close, the wholesaler has to take title and fund the first purchase. Munoz Ghezlan explains that this takes two contracts and short-term money for the first leg, which is why transactional funding exists. That cost can feed into the price the buyer sees. Sell to Home Pros also says some states license or restrict wholesaling. The sensible read is simple: rules differ, so confirm local law with a title company or an attorney before signing.
Contract wording matters on assignment. The contract has to be assignable, and language such as “and/or assigns” helps. A double close needs no assignment clause but does need a title company that handles wholesale closings.
Why Does Speed and Certainty Drive This Market?
Wholesalers sell on the strength of certainty. They want an end buyer who can show proof of funds, post earnest money, and close on the contract schedule. A typical checklist has an executed agreement first, earnest money delivered to title or escrow soon after, and proof of funds and deposit collected inside the first couple of weeks. A due diligence window gives the buyer time to line up financing, though those windows are short and vary by contract.
Long-term rental loans struggle with that rhythm on a package. They need a separate appraisal on each property, a lease or an appraiser-supported market rent on each, entity documents, insurance, and a title search per address. A hard money bridge is built around the asset and the plan, so it can fit a contract schedule that a permanent loan usually can’t. Across a wholesale network, that is the whole reason investors reach for a bridge: it buys time to season and stabilize the package.
How the Bridge Fits, Step by Step
Here is the sequence a package follows from contract to exit.
1. Contract and earnest money. The buyer signs the purchase contract or assignment and posts earnest money. Amounts vary by deal and by wholesaler, so treat any single figure as illustrative.
2. Proof of funds. The buyer shows the wholesaler that capital exists. A bridge lender’s term sheet or pre-qualification can support this, but only as far as the lender is willing to commit in writing, and nothing in it is a commitment to lend until underwriting is done.
3. Bridge sizing. Hard money in this space is asset-based. On bridge purchases without rehab, leverage runs up to 80% of the purchase price. On fix-and-flip files, leverage is measured against project cost and runs from 85% of project cost with fewer than two completed projects, to 90% at two or more, to 93% at five or more, with every tier capped at 75% of after-repair value. Up to 100% of a rehab budget can fund in draws against completed work. That is a rehab-budget figure, not a purchase LTV. The top tier is reserved for experienced investors, and all of it varies by lender, property, and experience.
4. Bridge closing. Terms run 6 to 18 months, interest-only, with no prepayment penalty. Loan amounts go up to $5,000,000 and larger by exception. Collateral is non-owner-occupied residential property, one to four units. Credit starts at a 620 score, with added conditions below 660. Underwriting stays asset-based: property, plan, and exit.
5. Stabilize. The investor finishes any rehab, places tenants, and builds the lease evidence the takeout lender will want.
6. Exit. Many investors refinance out of hard money into long-term DSCR financing once the properties are stabilized, and Lendmire brokers that path. Size the first loan backward from the second.
What Does the Takeout Lender Actually Check?
The takeout lender does not care what the investor believes the package is worth. It orders its own appraisal, measures rent against the new payment, and checks how long the investor has owned the property.
Three tests decide the outcome:
- Appraisal versus break-even. Add the bridge payoff and exit costs, then divide by the new loan’s leverage cap. If the appraisal doesn’t reach that number, the refinance either needs cash to close or doesn’t work.
- Rent coverage. DSCR compares rent to the full monthly obligation: principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any HOA dues. Clearing 1.00 is not the same as positive cash flow, since repairs, vacancy, management, utilities, and capex sit outside the calculation.
- Seasoning. The minimum ownership period before a cash-out or refinance is lender policy, not a federal rule, and it is measured from the date of recording. On most DSCR files in the network, about six months is the common expectation for cash-out.
Cash released at the takeout is the new loan, minus the bridge payoff, minus closing costs. A negative result means cash to close. Plan for that possibility before the bridge closes.
For the long-term side, most DSCR purchase files land at 75% to 80% LTV, and cash-out refinances top out around 75% LTV. Coverage of 1.00 is where select programs start, and stronger ratios open better pricing and leverage. Coverage below 1.00 is available through select lenders in the network, with leverage and terms adjusted. Credit floors run from 620 in parts of the network to around 660 for most programs, and 700-plus unlocks the strongest tiers. Reserves vary by lender, leverage, loan size, and transaction type, commonly around six months of PITIA. All of this is subject to lender guidelines. The complete DSCR loans guide walks through the full set.
One Loan or Several? Pooled vs. Separate Notes
The takeout for a package comes in two shapes: one pooled note secured by every property, or separate loans closing in parallel. “Blanket,” “cross-collateralized,” and “portfolio DSCR” loan all describe the same thing here: one note secured by several rentals.
| Factor | Pooled (one note) | Separate loans |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage test | Measured on the whole pool | Each property on its own |
| Weak property | Strong rentals can offset it | Can block that one loan |
| Release of one asset | Follows loan documents | Pay off just that loan |
| Paperwork | One note, many appraisals | Several files in parallel |
| Risk if one fails | Cross-default exposure | Isolated to that property |
On the 30-year portfolio DSCR loan, two to twenty properties sit under one note, with loan sizes from $300,000 to $5,000,000 and leverage up to 80% of value on purchase and rate-and-term. The coverage floor is 1.00 measured on the pool, so stronger properties can offset weaker ones. A rental that sits below 1.00 can still be in the pool, but underwriting tests the pooled coverage, the leverage, and the terms. The credit floor is 640, with 680 or 720 on some portfolio structures, and an LLC is required on some structures, subject to lender program eligibility. Property types are SFR, 2-4 unit, condo, and townhome. Each figure is subject to lender guidelines and a complete review of property type, leverage, and credit.
For five or more properties or units, the rental portfolio term loan runs $500,000 to $50,000,000 at up to 75% of value, with fixed terms of 3, 5, 7, or 10 years and a balloon at maturity. Recourse and non-recourse versions exist, and non-recourse loans look to the real estate with carve-outs for things like fraud and bankruptcy. Small multifamily of five or more units is eligible only on this term structure. Prepayment is yield maintenance, and reserves are held for taxes, insurance, and capital expenditures.
Every property still needs its own appraisal and a lease or an appraiser-supported market rent. Pooling does not skip property-level work. Manufactured and mobile homes are not reviewable on any of these programs.
Cash-out on a pooled loan never exceeds 75% of pooled value. Inside the first six months of ownership the loan is also capped at 90% of total cost (purchase price plus documented improvements), and at 100% of total cost from six to twelve months, and the leverage ceiling still applies, so the loan is the lower of the two. After twelve months, appraised value alone is the basis. A rate-and-term refinance is not subject to the cost-basis cap.
Where the General Rule Breaks: Edge Cases
The package isn’t rent-ready. A recently finished rehab is typically sized against total cost until it has been owned long enough. A vacant property needs an appraiser-supported market rent to count in the pool. If part of the package is empty at takeout, that part may not season on schedule.
Release clauses are contract terms, not rights. Federal due-on-sale law doesn’t give a borrower a right to a partial release. Fortra Law describes partial release clauses that require a set share of sale proceeds to pay down the loan, plus cross-default clauses that let one problem property put the whole debt in default. The release price runs above the property’s allocated balance, and the remaining pool must still cover its debt service. An investor who plans to sell individual assets should price the release terms before choosing a pooled note.
LLC-held properties. Settle the signer’s authority and who pays any release price before closing.
Bridge term versus seasoning. If the bridge term ends before the properties season, or before a vacant property is leased, the exit slips. A 6-to-18-month term has room, but not unlimited room.
The bridge itself. Hard money has no multi-year option on the current program. Investors who need longer runway refinance into long-term rental financing.
(Footprint note: hard money is available across 41 markets, including Washington, D.C., with a few states and cities excluded.)
When a Bridge Is the Wrong Tool
Skip the bridge when the package is already fully leased, appraises cleanly, and the investor can wait for a standard DSCR purchase loan. Skip it when the wholesaler’s contract has room for a longer close. Skip it when the exit depends on an appraisal the investor hasn’t tested.
A bridge also doesn’t fit commercial, land, hospitality, or owner-occupied property. Collateral is one-to-four-unit non-owner-occupied residential, with ground-up construction to ten units.
Consider a cash buyer instead if the numbers only work with free carry. And consider buying the package address by address if the weakest property is the one that makes the discount look good.
Package Due Diligence Checklist
Package-level checks:
- Is the contract assignable, and does the title company handle multiple assigned or double-closed contracts?
- How is the price allocated across addresses, and does the allocation hold up against likely appraisals?
- What happens to the contract if one property fails inspection or title?
- Does the wholesaler show a real right to assign, and can the buyer see the underlying purchase agreement?
Property-level checks:
- Title and liens, per address.
- Condition and repair scope, checked by the buyer’s own contractor, not the wholesaler’s repair estimate.
- Occupancy, leases, and rent evidence.
- Insurance quote per address.
- Entity documents for any LLC taking title.
Worked Example
Say an investor buys a six-property package on a bridge. Four properties are leased and two need light rehab. The bridge closes against purchase price and rehab budget, with leverage inside the program’s caps.
At takeout, the investor tests two paths. A pooled 30-year portfolio DSCR loan measures coverage across all six. If the four leased rentals clear roughly 1.2x and the two rehabbed ones land near 0.95x, the pool may still clear the 1.00 floor, subject to lender guidelines. Separate loans would test the two weaker properties individually, where they may need lower leverage or a select-lender path with adjusted terms.
Now the appraisal. If the lender’s value on the package comes in lighter than the investor’s after-repair estimate, the break-even calculation shows the shortfall as cash to close. That is why you run the break-even before the bridge closes, not after.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need cash to buy a bulk package?
Not necessarily all of it. A hard money bridge is asset-based and can fund up to 80% of purchase price on a no-rehab bridge purchase, with higher loan-to-cost on rehab files at experienced tiers. You still need earnest money and proof of funds, plus reserves and closing costs. Terms vary by lender, property, and experience.
Can I finance only part of the package?
Sometimes. Separate loans let a lender fund the properties that qualify while the investor handles the rest another way. A pooled note covers every property in it. Ask the lender up front how it treats a carve-out if one address fails.
What if one property falls out before closing?
It depends on the contract and the loan structure. Many package contracts allow a price adjustment or removal, but that has to be written in. On a pooled loan, a removed property changes the pool and the coverage test.
Is a bridge the same as hard money?
In this context, yes. A hard money bridge is short-term, interest-only, asset-based financing, with terms of 6 to 18 months. Lendmire’s piece DSCR Loan vs Hard Money Loan: Which Fits Your Next Deal? covers the differences in more detail.
Does an assigned contract affect the lender?
Yes, it can. Some lenders won’t fund an assigned contract, which is a major reason wholesalers use double closes. Ask early.
Key Terms Defined
Assignment: the wholesaler transfers the purchase contract to the end buyer for a fee, without taking title.
Double close: two back-to-back closings, seller to wholesaler and wholesaler to buyer, with the wholesaler briefly holding title.
Cross-collateralization: a structure where every property secures the whole debt.
Seasoning: the minimum time an investor has owned a property before a lender will refinance or cash out on it.
Release price: what a borrower pays to free one property from a pooled loan, which runs above the property’s allocated balance.
Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
If you are buying, rehabbing or refinancing an investment property on a short timeline and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare hard money options based on the project, the exit plan, leverage, and your goals. Rate-driven carry costs are worth a look as well, and Lendmire’s piece The Fed’s First Hike Since 2023 Lands on Hard Money and Bridge Borrowers is a useful companion.
A package is only as strong as its weakest address, and the investors who plan the exit around that address are the ones who finish the takeout.
About Lendmire
Lendmire — NMLS# 2371349 — is a mortgage brokerage specializing in DSCR investor loans, helping arrange financing across 41 markets, including Washington, D.C., through wholesale and investor-lending channels. The model centers on property-level rental income reviewed by the lender rather than W-2 documentation, subject to lender guidelines, suiting entity-owned and multi-property investors. Lendmire holds Scotsman Guide Top Mortgage Workplace recognition for 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Sell to Home Pros – Contract Assignment
2. Munoz Ghezlan – Double Close
3. Sell to Home Pros – Double Close vs Assignment
4. Fortra Law – Cross-Collateralization
This article is part of Lendmire’s hard money loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: One Blanket DSCR Loan vs Two Portfolio Loans for Consolidating Rentals · How to Set Up the Entity for a Trust-Held DSCR Rental Portfolio · DSCR Substitution vs Release and Add on a Tenant-Occupied Package
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Legal disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage that arranges financing through wholesale lender relationships. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or registered financial advisor. The discussion above is general informational content about real estate financing — it is not financial, legal, or tax advice, and readers should consult licensed professionals for guidance on their individual circumstances. Loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not represent a commitment to lend. Loan terms, rates, and qualification standards vary by borrower, property, and state, and are subject to change at any time. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.