Should I refinance my floating-rate bridge into a fixed-rate perm now?

Questions to consider

Stabilization status: most institutional perm requires stabilized operations. Stabilized typically means 90%+ occupancy for 3 to 6 consecutive months on multifamily; varies by property type. If the property is mid-stabilization (75% to 90% occupancy with active lease-up), the bridge is the right product until stabilization is complete.

Refi closing cost: 1.0% to 1.5% of loan amount including origination, third-party reports, lender legal, title and survey. On a $20M loan, $200K to $300K. Payback on the rate-savings basis = 8 to 12 months.

Compare the cost of keeping the bridge loan with the cost of a refinance over realistic holding periods. Include fees, prepayment, rate exposure, reserves and the remaining business plan.

Hedge value of the locked rate: even if current perm rates are slightly higher than current floating rates, locking the perm hedges against further rate increases over the perm term. For sponsors with directional view that rates will rise, locking now is the right hedge. For sponsors with view that rates will fall, holding the bridge with rate-cap protection captures more of the downside benefit.

Sequential vs. simultaneous: the borrower can pursue the perm refi sequentially (refi the bridge first, deploy the cap-out separately) or simultaneously (use the perm refi to fund the cap-out in one transaction). Simultaneous is typically cleaner if both the perm and the cap-out can be timed together.