Commercial lending in Texas is not one product — it spans DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth) (Collin/Denton reassessment after close) and Houston (Harris County flood-zone diligence on AE blocks). A stabilized eight-unit in DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth) underwrites differently from warehouse flex in Houston or mixed-use retail-residential in San Antonio. Investors who import one national template lose weeks on the wrong diligence list.
Texas commercial here is first-Tuesday and 1031 bridge, then DSCR on in-place NOI. Bridge 8.99%–13.5% IO, 12–24 months. Holds: Texas DSCR and 5+ unit multifamily DSCR at 5.75%–10.5%. Non-owner-occupied only.
Open commercial loan request. Sort the asset on commercial property loans by asset class. (833) 264-7776.
Texas commercial lanes we fund
| Asset class | Typical market | Financing fit |
|---|---|---|
| 5–20 unit multifamily | DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth) | Bridge value-add → DSCR on stabilized NOI |
| Mixed-use retail + resi | Urban cores | Separate commercial/resi underwriting stacks |
| Industrial / flex | Houston 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 |
Commercial down payment requirements — Harris flood and Collin/Denton reassessment change equity more than the coupon.
Texas market snapshot (Q3 2026)
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth) basis band | $245K–$385K |
| Houston basis band | $195K–$320K |
| Property tax | ~1.68% — among the highest effective rates (1.8%–2.4% in many counties); model at post-close assessed value |
| Income tax on rental profit | none at state level |
| Landlord environment | high — state law preempts local rent control |
| Foreclosure | non-judicial — power-of-sale foreclosure on the first Tuesday of the month is among the fastest in the U.S. |
| Primary hazard | Harris County (Houston) flood zones and mandatory flood insurance |
Sold-comp ARV discipline: $285,000 – $420,000. Typical rehab bands: $35,000 – $95,000. Reference deal: DFW heavy rehab funded at 95% with all fees deferred to payoff.
Mixed-use and small multifamily in Texas
Ground-floor commercial with residential above appears in DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth) and San Antonio 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 → among the highest effective rates (1.8%–2.4% in many counties); model at post-close assessed value
Four units plus a bay can stay residential. Five-plus is commercial appraisal and rent roll. Distressed mixed-use: hard money lenders Texas then DSCR loans Texas.
Worked example: DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth) 8-unit value-add bridge → DSCR
Operator acquires an 8-unit DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth) small multifamily with deferred unit turns.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase | $1,008,000 |
| CapEx (unit turns, roof) | $165,000 |
| Total cost | $1,173,000 |
| Bridge at 68% LTC | $797,640 |
| Sponsor equity | $375,360 |
| 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 |
DFW eight-unit paid bridge with DSCR after turns. No cheap first existed to keep.
Texas commercial diligence checklist
- Rent roll — executed leases; market vs. in-place rent documented
- Tax bills — current treasurer statement + reassessment buffer (among the highest effective rates (1.8%–2.4% in many counties); model at post-close assessed value)
- Insurance — Harris County (Houston) flood zones and mandatory flood insurance 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 — foundation movement in clay soils
When commercial bridge is the wrong tool
No entitlements → new construction for investors. Vacant office, no conversion → 50%+ equity. Occupy 51%+ → SBA owner-occupied CRE. Special-servicer notes need counsel; first-Tuesday speed does not make them a 10-day IO close.
Related Texas resources
Bridge loans Texas · Hard money lenders Texas · Commercial property loans by asset class · Small-balance commercial loans · How to apply for a commercial real estate loan.
Q3 2026 Texas 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%. DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth) mixed-use and Houston industrial do not share one calendar.
| Lane (Q3 2026) | Geography | Basis / rent cue | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small multifamily 5–20 | DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth) | $245K–$385K; $1,850–$2,650 | Bridge → DSCR |
| Mixed-use retail + resi | San Antonio | Split-stack NOI | Bridge → split DSCR |
| Industrial / flex | Houston | NNN or gross leases | Bridge or stabilized DSCR |
| Tertiary mixed | San Antonio | $185K–$275K | Longer bridge; named bank exit |
Texas 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 — power-of-sale foreclosure on the first Tuesday of the month is among the fastest in the U.S.
- Licensing — Texas TREC advertising rules and homestead exemptions do not apply to business-purpose investor loans.
Second worked example: Houston warehouse flex (composite)
The DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth) eight-unit example above is multifamily. This Q3 2026 composite is industrial flex.
DFW flex $1,260,000, ~18,000 sf, two tenants. NNN $9.20/sf occupied, ~12% vacant. Bridge $907,200 at 72% LTC / 10.99% / 18 months for a 1031 versus a 45-day bank. $62,000 holdback. Year-1 NOI ≈ $126,000. Permanent 65% LTV / 7.625% ≈ 1.20 DSCR.
Texas flex is remaining term, tenant credit, and flood or clay-soil questions — not a Houston duplex walk.
Four Texas commercial submarkets — distinct theses
DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth). Collin/Denton reassessment after close. Thesis: small MF value-add with documented rent upside.
Houston. Harris County flood-zone diligence on AE blocks. Thesis: NNN or multi-tenant industrial — lease term drives LTV.
San Antonio. strong yield-on-cost; Bexar tax ~2%+. Thesis: mixed-use or tertiary yield — longer take-out clock.
San Antonio. strong yield-on-cost; Bexar tax ~2%+. Thesis: do not use DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth) comps on San Antonio assets — local bank exit required.
Q3 2026 Texas commercial sequencing
City mixed-use and suburban industrial do not share a calendar. A San Antonio 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 Houston flex composite can close a capex holdback in weeks when there is no residential landlord overlay.
$907,200 at 10.99% ≈ $8,308 a month. Eighteen months without a take-out exceeds $62,000 capex. Write 5.75%–10.5% DSCR, SBA, or a sale into the file.
Owner-users belong on SBA owner-occupied CRE. Investors belong on the asset-class hub.
Texas commercial file checklist
Texas packet: rent roll/options; T-12; entity/liquidity; Phase I; ordinance/law and flood; tax near ~1.68% at post-close assessed value; COs; named exit; zoning; storage/industrial spoke.
Harris CAD values, TDI surplus lines, and first-Tuesday timing
Texas commercial expense lines are tax and insurance, not state income tax. Harris County files should start at Harris Central Appraisal District — the post-close assessed value, not last year’s owner bill, is what DSCR will feel. Collin and Denton (DFW) reassess after investor purchase on a different calendar. Bexar County (San Antonio) millage often runs ~2%+ effective. Do not copy a Dallas tax line onto a Houston AE-zone warehouse.
Flood and surplus-lines questions belong with the Texas Department of Insurance consumer and company lookup when the admitted market declines a Harris County address. Mandatory flood on AE blocks can swing DSCR by a tenth or more. DFW clay-soil files more often stall on foundation movement and ordinance-and-law coverage than on surge. Austin entitlement and site-plan timing is a third delay — it is not a Houston flood file and not a DFW eight-unit file.
Power-of-sale foreclosure on the first Tuesday of the month is among the fastest in the country. That helps clean acquisitions. It does not skip title, survey, or insurance on a Texas bridge at 8.99%–13.5% IO. Stabilized exits use Texas DSCR at 5.75%–10.5%.
Walk product fit on commercial real estate financing. Under-$2 million files should use small-balance commercial loans. Apply at commercial loan request or call (833) 264-7776 with the CAD printout, flood zone, and remaining NNN term.
Texas has no state income tax on rental profit, so sponsors sometimes under-model the property-tax line. Effective rates of 1.8%–2.4% in many counties will move DSCR more than a 50-basis-point coupon change. Protest calendars at HCAD and the DFW districts are not optional busywork — a missed protest can lock a purchase-price assessment for the hold year. Homestead exemptions do not apply to business-purpose investor loans; do not quote a homestead rate into an LLC acquisition. How to apply for a commercial real estate loan and 5+ unit multifamily DSCR are the next two reads when the asset is a five-to-twenty unit value-add in Collin or Harris County. TREC advertising rules do not convert a business-purpose loan into a consumer mortgage — say investor use on the first call.
A first-Tuesday bid without a Friday flood cert is how Houston files request extensions. HCAD post-close value, not last year’s owner bill, is the tax line DSCR will feel. Collin and Denton reassess on their own calendar. Bexar millage often runs ~2%+ effective. DFW clay-soil files stall on foundation and ordinance-and-law more than surge. Austin site-plan timing is a third delay — it is not a Harris AE warehouse and not a DFW eight-unit. Homestead exemptions do not apply to LLC investor loans. Protest the assessment or lock a purchase-price tax hit for the hold year. Power-of-sale speed helps Texas bridge acquisitions; it does not skip survey or TDI surplus-lines work. Say investor use on the first call — TREC advertising rules do not convert this into a consumer mortgage.
Pre-Qualify for Texas 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.