What happens when a bridge loan's business plan needs more time than the original term?

The borrower and lender can negotiate a formal extension agreement rather than forcing a refinance. This $5,500,000 Beverly Hills loan, originally maturing after about 13 months, was extended a full additional year through an executed extension agreement rather than requiring a new loan.

Does an interest rate typically change when a bridge loan is extended?

Often, yes. On this loan, the interest rate during the one-year extension term was set at 10.25%, reflecting then-current market pricing rather than the original note rate, a common structure when a bridge loan is extended rather than refinanced.

What is a lender release provision in a loan extension agreement, and why does it matter?

A release provision has the borrower waive any claims against the lender related to the original loan as a condition of getting the extension. This extension agreement included a full release, including a waiver of California Civil Code Section 1542 rights covering claims not yet known at the time of signing.

How are extension fees typically structured on a private bridge loan?

Extension fees are usually paid upfront as a condition of the lender granting more time. On this loan, the borrower paid $110,000 to the lender plus a separate $55,000 fee to the brokerage, both fully earned and due at signing of the extension agreement.

Can a private lender loan be recorded and treated the same as a bank loan?

Yes. This $5,500,000 loan was secured by a recorded deed of trust, assignment of rents, and security agreement, filed with Los Angeles County within days of the note's execution, the same public recording process used for institutional bank financing.

Case Study: $5.5M Bridge Loan for a Retail Property in the Beverly Hills Golden Triangle

Deal at a Glance

Original Loan Amount	$5,500,000
Property	Retail property
Location	the Golden Triangle retail district, Beverly Hills, California
Lender	a private REIT lender
Original Note Date	March 8, 2024
Deed of Trust Recorded	March 14, 2024 (Instrument No. 2024016648)
Original Maturity	April 1, 2025 (approximately 13 months)
Extended Maturity	April 1, 2026 (one additional year)
Extension-Term Rate	10.25%
Extension Fee (to Lender)	$110,000
Extension Fee (to Broker)	$55,000
Collateral	Deed of trust, assignment of rents, security agreement
Payment Structure	Continued monthly interest-only payments through the extension
Closed	March 2024, extended March 2025

The Deal That Walked in the Door

We are Commercial Lending Solutions, a commercial mortgage brokerage based in Los Angeles, and this deal brought us a bridge loan need for a retail property in the Beverly Hills Golden Triangle, one of the most valuable and closely watched retail corridors in Los Angeles. The borrowing entity needed private capital structured as a bridge, financing that would give the ownership group room to execute their plan for the property before transitioning to a permanent solution or a sale. Commercial Lending Solutions specializes in private bridge loans for trophy retail real estate for investors across California and nationwide.

The Golden Triangle retail district sits at the heart of the Beverly Hills retail core, and private bridge capital on a property in this location has to be priced and structured around both the exceptional real estate value and the sponsor's specific timeline, not a generic template.

What Made It Hard

Pricing bridge capital on trophy retail real estate. A $5.5 million loan against a Beverly Hills retail property required a lender comfortable underwriting the asset's real value quickly, on a private, non-institutional timeline.
Managing the maturity when the business plan ran long. As the original April 2025 maturity approached, the ownership group needed more time to execute their plan for the property, requiring a negotiated extension rather than a forced sale or a scramble to refinance under pressure.
Structuring fair terms for both sides on the extension. Extending a matured bridge loan means renegotiating rate, fees, and lender protections all at once, and getting each of those right mattered to both the borrower's ongoing cost of capital and the lender's willingness to grant more time.

How We Ran the Process

Trevor Damyan, a California-licensed real estate broker (CA DRE 02244836), placed the original loan with a private REIT lender, closing on March 8, 2024, and later negotiated the extension executed March 4, 2025:

$5,500,000 funded at closing, secured by a deed of trust, assignment of rents, and security agreement recorded with Los Angeles County on March 14, 2024
Original maturity of April 1, 2025, roughly 13 months from closing, with monthly interest-only payments throughout
A full one-year extension to April 1, 2026, negotiated as the original maturity approached, keeping the full $5,500,000 principal balance in place rather than requiring a paydown or refinance
A 10.25% rate for the extension term, reflecting then-current market pricing for the renewed facility
$110,000 paid to the lender and $55,000 paid to the brokerage as extension fees, both fully earned and due upon execution of the extension agreement
A full release provision in the extension agreement, with the borrower waiving claims against the lender related to the loan, including an express waiver of California Civil Code Section 1542 covering unknown claims

The extension kept the property financed on the same collateral and lien position without disrupting the ownership group's plan, giving them another full year to execute before the loan comes due again.

"The best time to negotiate an extension is before you actually need one. Going to the lender early, while the loan is still performing, is what got this borrower a fair rate instead of a distressed one."
, Trevor Damyan, Commercial Lending Solutions

Why We Won This One

Getting the extension negotiated and executed before the original maturity date, rather than after a default, is what preserved the borrower's leverage in the conversation. A lender negotiating with a performing borrower well ahead of maturity has real incentive to extend on reasonable terms; the same conversation after a missed payment looks very different.

Structuring the extension fee split between the lender and the brokerage, rather than folding everything into a single lender charge, kept the economics transparent for the borrower while fairly compensating both sides for the additional work of renegotiating and re-papering the loan.

Is This Structure Right for Your Deal?

If your bridge loan's maturity is approaching and your business plan needs more runway, negotiating an extension proactively is almost always better than waiting until you are in default. We arrange bridge loans and retail property financing from a network of more than 1,000 capital sources.

Apply for financing or call us at 310.708.0690 to talk through your maturing loan.

This is one of 32 closings we have arranged in Los Angeles County. Read about how we work as a Los Angeles commercial mortgage broker, see our Los Angeles bridge loans, or browse all 46 California closed deals.

Trevor Damyan

Commercial Mortgage Broker, Commercial Lending Solutions | CA DRE 02244836

Trevor Damyan is a commercial mortgage broker at Commercial Lending Solutions with a background in structured finance at CBRE and Marcus and Millichap Capital Corporation. He specializes in bridge loans, construction financing, SBA programs, DSCR loans, and complex capital structures for investors and developers across all 50 states.

View full profile →