Funded in 8 days: $5,500,000 on a Los Altos Hills trophy home
The deal in one paragraph: I arranged a $5,500,000 refinance on a trophy home in Los Altos Hills at 40% loan-to-value, on a one-year term. It funded 8 days after the application. The money paid for a remodel to get the property in top shape for sale, and the sale repays the loan.
The deal | Details |
Property | Trophy single-family home, Los Altos Hills, California |
Loan | $5,500,000 refinance |
Loan-to-value | 40% |
Term | One year |
Collateral | This property alone |
What the money did | Paid for a remodel ahead of a sale |
Exit | Sale of the property |
Application to funding | 8 days |
Closed | 2026 |
Equity in the property and a deadline the bank can't meet?
I underwrite the property, the equity and the exit, not your tax returns. Call me directly, and you'll typically know within 12 to 24 hours whether I can structure it.
What the borrower needed
The borrower was taking the home to market, and before it went, it needed work.
On a property like this, the finish is a large part of what a buyer is paying for. A trophy home is defined by one-of-a-kind character and top-tier construction, sold to a narrow and discerning pool of buyers. The point of the remodel was to have the home in top shape before it went on the market.
So the brief was simple. The equity was already in the property. The borrower needed to reach it quickly, put it into the remodel, and sell the finished home.
Why a bank wasn't the answer
Timing. The borrower needed the money fast, and a bank refinance on a home this size takes weeks longer than that.
A bank underwrites the borrower first and the property second. I work the other way round. My decision rests on three things: the property, the equity behind the loan, and the exit. Tax returns and income documentation are not what the file turns on, which is why the timeline can follow the borrower's plan instead of a bank's process.
How I structured it
Nothing about this loan needed to be complicated, and it wasn't.
One property, one loan. It was a standalone loan secured by the home itself. No second property was pledged alongside it.
40% loan-to-value. The loan was well under half of the property's value. My typical ceiling is 65%, higher case by case, so this file sat far inside it.
A one-year term. Enough time to finish the remodel, list the home and sell it.
A clear exit. The sale of the finished property repays the loan.
That is the whole structure. When the property is strong, the equity is deep and the plan for repayment is clear, the decision doesn't need to wait on anything else.
What 8 days looks like against the usual range
Most of the loans I arrange fund in 5 to 21 days from a complete file, with pre-approval typically inside 12 to 24 hours. Eight days sits near the fast end of that range.
I don't present 8 days as a promise for every file. I present it as what happens when a strong property, real equity and a clear exit come together on one loan. If you want to see how I think about properties in this part of the Peninsula, I wrote about Atherton, Portola Valley, Woodside and Los Altos Hills in more detail, and the trophy property financing page covers how I value homes that have no real comparable sales.
If your property needs work before it sells
This file is a good picture of the kind of call I want to get. You own a high-value property. You know what it will be worth once the work is done. The money to do the work is sitting in the equity, and the bank's timeline doesn't fit yours.
I arrange business-purpose loans from $250,000 to $50,000,000+ on California property, and from $1,000,000 in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Texas, Florida and New York. Underwriting is based on the asset, the equity and the exit. Pricing is quoted per transaction. You can see other closed loans on my recently funded page.
What happens when you call
It goes straight to me. There is no intake team and no queue.
Tell me what the property is, what is owed on it, what you need the money for and how it gets repaid. I will tell you on that call whether it is something I can structure, and you will typically have an answer in 12 to 24 hours.
Call or text 415-508-3834
Kevin Green · Licensed in California real estate since 1998 · CA DRE Broker #01241542 · NMLS #1130752
You can verify both licenses yourself: California DRE license lookup · NMLS Consumer Access.
Questions that come up
Can you lend on a property I plan to sell within a year? Yes. A planned sale is a standard exit, and it was the exit on this loan. The one-year term was set so the remodel and the sale both fit inside it.
Can the loan pay for a remodel? On this loan, the refinance proceeds paid for the remodel. Tell me what the work is and what the property is worth today, and I will tell you how it can be structured.
Do I need to pledge a second property? Not when the property carries the loan by itself. This one was secured by the home alone, at 40% loan-to-value.
How fast can a loan like this fund? Pre-approval typically takes 12 to 24 hours, and funding typically takes 5 to 21 days. This loan funded in 8.
Tell me about your property
I arrange business-purpose loans from $250,000 to $50,000,000+ on California property. Pre-approval typically takes 12 to 24 hours, and funding typically takes 5 to 21 days.
Business-purpose financing only. Not available for owner-occupied consumer transactions.
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