Commercial lending in Florida is not one product — it spans Tampa Bay (9-day closings on hurricane-resilient rehab scopes) and Orlando (STR-vs-LTR decision drives DSCR math). A stabilized eight-unit in Tampa Bay underwrites differently from warehouse flex in Orlando or mixed-use retail-residential in Jacksonville. Investors who import one national template lose weeks on the wrong diligence list.
Florida commercial here means bridge through insurance and court calendars, then DSCR once NOI is real. Bridge 8.99%–13.5% IO for 12–24 months. Stabilized Florida DSCR and 5+ unit multifamily DSCR at 5.75%–10.5%. Non-owner-occupied only.
Commercial loan request is the form. Commercial property loans by asset class is the menu. (833) 264-7776.
Florida commercial lanes we fund
| Asset class | Typical market | Financing fit |
|---|---|---|
| 5–20 unit multifamily | Tampa Bay | Bridge value-add → DSCR on stabilized NOI |
| Mixed-use retail + resi | Urban cores | Separate commercial/resi underwriting stacks |
| Industrial / flex | Orlando corridors | Bridge on NNN or multi-tenant NOI |
| Strip retail | Suburban nodes | DSCR on in-place rent roll |
| Outdoor hospitality | Tourism markets | Bridge + asset-class hub |
Cash-to-close ranges: commercial down payment requirements. Wind deductibles often move equity more than LTV headlines.
Florida market snapshot (Q3 2026)
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tampa Bay basis band | $320K–$450K |
| Orlando basis band | $330K–$460K |
| Property tax | ~0.86% — no homestead cap for investors; model tax at purchase price |
| Income tax on rental profit | none at state level |
| Landlord environment | high — state law preempts local rent control |
| Foreclosure | judicial — judicial foreclosure can run a year or more — bridge timing matters |
| Primary hazard | hurricane wind and storm surge |
Sold-comp ARV discipline: $295,000 – $450,000. Typical rehab bands: $40,000 – $110,000. Reference deal: Tampa Bay flip closed in 9 days with hurricane-resilient rehab scope funded 100%.
Mixed-use and small multifamily in Florida
Ground-floor commercial with residential above appears in Tampa Bay and Jacksonville cores. Underwriting must split stacks:
- Residential units → lease compliance, security deposits, habitability under state law preempts local rent control
- Commercial bay → separate CAM, insurance, and vacancy assumptions
- Taxes → no homestead cap for investors; model tax at purchase price
Duplex-to-fourplex mixed-use still looks residential to many desks. Five-plus is commercial paper — appraisal, rent roll, wind/flood. Distressed mixed-use: hard money lenders Florida, then DSCR loans Florida.
Worked example: Tampa Bay 8-unit value-add bridge → DSCR
Operator acquires an 8-unit Tampa Bay small multifamily with deferred unit turns.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase | $1,232,000 |
| CapEx (unit turns, roof) | $165,000 |
| Total cost | $1,397,000 |
| Bridge at 68% LTC | $949,960 |
| Sponsor equity | $447,040 |
| Rate | 10.25% IO · 18-month term |
| Stabilized gross rent | $11,200/mo |
| DSCR refi at 72% LTV | Month 14 · 7.25% fixed · DSCR 1.22 |
The Tampa Bay eight-unit left bridge after lease-up. DSCR became the long hold; no prior first existed to keep.
Florida commercial diligence checklist
- Rent roll — executed leases; market vs. in-place rent documented
- Tax bills — current treasurer statement + reassessment buffer (no homestead cap for investors; model tax at purchase price)
- Insurance — hurricane wind and storm surge quoted on exact address
- Entity — LLC operating agreement; most commercial closes in entity (LLC guide)
- Environmental — Phase I on industrial/gas/hospitality where required
- Exit — written DSCR or sale path before bridge close
- Zoning — confirm permitted use matches operations
- Hazard secondary line — flood-zone (AE/VE) insurance that can swing DSCR by 0.10+
When commercial bridge is the wrong tool
Entitlements unfinished → new construction for investors. Vacant office, no conversion → expect 50%+ equity. Owner-user → SBA owner-occupied CRE. Special-servicer notes need counsel; Florida’s judicial calendar is not a 10-day bridge.
Related Florida resources
Bridge loans Florida · Hard money lenders Florida · Commercial property loans by asset class · Small-balance commercial loans · How to apply for a commercial real estate loan.
Q3 2026 Florida commercial lanes
As of Q3 2026, Jaken Finance Group prices investor commercial bridge at 8.99%–13.5% IO and stabilized DSCR at 5.75%–10.5%. Tampa Bay mixed-use and Orlando industrial do not share one calendar.
| Lane (Q3 2026) | Geography | Basis / rent cue | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small multifamily 5–20 | Tampa Bay | $320K–$450K; $2,000–$2,700 | Bridge → DSCR |
| Mixed-use retail + resi | Jacksonville | Split-stack NOI | Bridge → split DSCR |
| Industrial / flex | Orlando | NNN or gross leases | Bridge or stabilized DSCR |
| Tertiary mixed | Jacksonville | $270K–$390K | Longer bridge; named bank exit |
Florida commercial local rules (where files stall)
- Five-unit cliff — below five, residential investment overlays may apply; at five-plus, commercial appraisal and rent roll are standard.
- SBA occupancy — if the sponsor will occupy 51%+, that is SBA — different down payment, often 45–90 days, not a 10-day bridge.
- Phase I triggers — pre-1970 commercial, dry cleaners, former industrial. Budget time; do not discover tanks at day 8 of a 10-day close.
- Foreclosure — judicial foreclosure can run a year or more — bridge timing matters
- Licensing — Florida DBPR and local wind/flood requirements affect insurance timelines — plan builders risk early.
Second worked example: Orlando warehouse flex (composite)
The Tampa Bay eight-unit example above is multifamily. This Q3 2026 composite is industrial flex.
Tampa-corridor flex: $1,540,000, ~18,000 sf, two tenants. NNN $9.20/sf occupied, ~12% vacant. Bridge $1,108,800 (72% LTC) at 10.99% IO, 18 months, to beat a 45-day bank sheet inside a 1031. $62,000 holdback. Year-1 NOI ≈ $154,000. Permanent 65% / 7.625% ≈ 1.20 DSCR.
Flex is remaining term, tenant credit, and flood elevation — not a duplex walkthrough.
Four Florida commercial submarkets — distinct theses
Miami. Folio-driven tax and wind-deductible quotes before IO. Thesis: South Florida mixed-use prices off insurance and tourist vacancy, not Tampa Bay rents.
Tampa Bay. 9-day closings on hurricane-resilient rehab scopes. Thesis: small MF value-add with documented rent upside and surge diligence.
Orlando. STR-vs-LTR decision drives DSCR math on residential; industrial flex prices remaining NNN term. Thesis: lease term and dock access drive LTV.
Jacksonville. Lowest major-metro basis; military and port demand. Thesis: mixed-use or tertiary yield with a local bank exit — do not use Miami or Tampa comps.
Q3 2026 Florida commercial sequencing
City mixed-use and suburban industrial do not share a calendar. A Jacksonville storefront with apartments still needs separate CO paths for commercial and residential uses — plan 12–16 weeks of rehab even when the contractor quotes eight. The Orlando flex composite can close a capex holdback in weeks when there is no residential landlord overlay.
$1,108,800 at 10.99% ≈ $10,155 IO per month. Eighteen undecided months exceed the $62,000 capex. Lock a 5.75%–10.5% DSCR path, SBA if you occupy, or a sale.
Occupying the building? SBA owner-occupied CRE first. Investors: asset-class hub, not a mixed-use residential checklist.
Florida commercial file checklist
Florida packet: rent roll with options; T-12 occupancy; entity/liquidity; Phase I triggers; wind/flood and ordinance/law; tax line near ~0.86% at purchase price; COs; named exit; zoning; storage/industrial spoke when relevant.
Miami-Dade folios, Chapter 702, and wind-driven carry
Florida commercial files stall more often on insurance and court timing than on rate. The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser folio is the first check on South Florida mixed-use — it shows land vs building split, last sale, and assessed value that will not match Hillsborough or Duval printouts. Use that folio before you lock a DSCR pro forma. A purchase-price reassessment with no homestead cap can lift the tax line enough to drop DSCR by a tenth.
Judicial foreclosure under Florida Statutes §702.01 is not a 90-day trustee sale. When the story is a note purchase or a defaulted first, model 12 or more months of carry on the Florida commercial bridge. Interest-only at 8.99%–13.5% still burns cash while the clerk calendars the sale. Stabilized holds that already cash-flow belong on Florida DSCR at 5.75%–10.5%, not on an 18-month IO clock hoping the court finishes early.
Wind and flood do not price the same from Miami to Jacksonville. Miami-Dade and Broward quotes often include hurricane deductible percentages that move debt service more than a 25-basis-point rate change. Tampa Bay files need storm-surge and wind in the same binder. Orlando inland flex can skip surge but still needs named-storm deductibles. Jacksonville river and Intracoastal parcels need flood-zone (AE/VE) quotes on the exact address before you request a commercial loan. A missing elevation certificate is a week of delay, not a footnote.
Miami small multifamily near the urban core often has condo-conversion rumors and tourist-season vacancy that a Tampa eight-unit does not. Orlando warehouse on the 417 or 528 corridor underwrites remaining NNN term and dock-high access, not short-term-rental night rates. Jacksonville military and port demand supports tertiary mixed-use, but local bank take-out is slower than a Tampa DSCR desk. Do not staple a Miami Beach insurance binder to a Duval County acquisition.
Start the product walkthrough on commercial real estate financing if you are still choosing bridge vs DSCR vs SBA. Documents and sequencing live on how to apply for a commercial real estate loan. Files under $2 million should also review small-balance commercial loans. Call (833) 264-7776 with the folio, the wind quote, and remaining lease terms — not a brochure rent.
Three clocks that are not the coupon: (1) the Chapter 702 sale date if you bought a note, (2) the elevation-certificate appointment if the parcel is AE or VE, and (3) the named-storm deductible that hits DSCR harder than 25 basis points. Miami-Dade folios, Hillsborough surge, and Duval river parcels do not share one binder. If any of those three is open, size Florida bridge to the longest clock, then exit to Florida DSCR only after the T-12 is real. A missing elevation certificate is a week, not a footnote.
Pre-Qualify for Florida Commercial Financing · (833) 264-7776
Rates, terms and conditions offered only to qualified borrowers and are subject to change at any time without notice. Closing times are in business days and commence upon receipt of appraisal payment and satisfaction of borrower conditions. All loans are subject to full underwriting for loan approvals. Jaken Finance Group only finances non-owner occupied investment properties.
Florida industrial files should show remaining term immediately. A short retail tail is not a 10-year NNN.
Unanchored strip in Orlando still wants more equity than a credit-tenant warehouse — that is a leverage question, not a rate-shopping problem.