The 12-month loan at 14% interest will be converted to a construction loan when the oceanfront project breaks ground next to a sister project in the gated community. The $10 million loan can be extended for an additional six months.

"Land loans are often tricky, but this was the perfect situation, despite the short timeframe presented to us for closing," says Mountain Funding CEO Peter J. Fioretti. "The property is breathtaking and, being beachfront, an increasingly rare commodity." Mountain Funding's risk was minimal on the loan because of the project's expert design and pre-sale of most of the units in both projects, Fioretti says.

The 10-year-old lender has closed equity and debt real estate transactions totaling $2.8 billion since opening in 1993. Fioretti says Mountain Funding provides high-leverage, one-stop senior/mezzanine/equity financing to "value-added residential and commercial projects and special situations requiring quick closings." In addition to its Charlotte location, the lender also has offices in Boca Raton, FL and Princeton, NJ.