When your deal outgrows a single lender, you need more than a check. Axios provides mezzanine debt and JV equity from $500K to $100M — and actively helps structure deals for borrower advantage. Rates as low as 8.5%. 90% LTC. Nationwide.
Get Your Term Sheet Same-day term sheets • Rates from 8.5% • $500K to $100M • All 50 statesMost lenders do one thing. Axios does what the deal requires. When your project needs a subordinate debt layer, we provide mezzanine debt. When it needs an equity partner for a larger development, we structure a joint venture. Often, the right answer is a combination of both.
Subordinate financing that fills the gap between senior debt and equity in your capital stack.
Equity partnerships for larger development projects where Axios is your capital partner, not just a lender.
Mezzanine debt is a layer of financing that sits between a property's senior mortgage and the equity in the capital stack. It fills the gap between what a senior lender will provide — typically 60-70% of property value — and what the developer contributes as equity.
In practice, this means a developer who would otherwise need to contribute 30-40% equity can reduce that to 10-15% by layering mezzanine debt. The math is simple: on a $20M project, the difference between 20% and 10% equity is $2M in freed-up capital — capital that can fund another deal, accelerate development timelines, or amplify equity returns on this one.
Axios provides mezzanine debt from $500K to $100M — from small subordinate debt layers on mid-market acquisitions to large mezz tranches on institutional-scale developments. Our rates start at 8.5%, well below the 9-11% range common among competitors in this space.
Every real estate deal has a capital stack — the layers of financing from most secure to highest risk. Mezzanine debt occupies the subordinate position above senior debt.
Mezzanine lenders like Axios accept a subordinate position in exchange for higher rates than senior debt. But the key insight is that mezzanine debt is dramatically cheaper than equity. If a project generates a 20%+ equity return, an 8.5-10% mezzanine rate is inexpensive capital — and the developer keeps the upside.
A second mortgage is secured by a lien on the real property. Mezzanine debt is secured by a pledge of the ownership interests in the entity that owns the property — typically the LLC. This matters for enforcement speed: mezzanine lenders can foreclose on equity interests via UCC procedures in weeks, compared to months for real property foreclosure. For larger commercial deals ($5M+), mezzanine debt is the standard subordinate financing vehicle.
Here's exactly what Axios offers and how it compares to the market:
| Feature | Axios Mezzanine | Market Range |
|---|---|---|
| Interest Rate | From 8.5% | 9% – 14% |
| Loan Size | $500K – $100M | $1M – $50M (typical) |
| Max LTC (Purchase) | 90% LTC | 80-85% LTC |
| Max LTARV | 75% LTARV | 65-75% LTARV |
| Closing Speed | 3-4 weeks | 45-90 days (typical) |
| Interest Structure | Escrowed available ($0/mo) | Current pay (monthly) |
| Single-Source Capital | Senior + mezz from Axios | Multiple lenders required |
| Geographic Coverage | All 50 states | Regional (varies) |
The standout advantages: rates starting at 8.5% (vs. 9-11% typical), escrowed interest available (vs. current pay at nearly every competitor), and the ability to provide both senior and mezzanine debt as a single-source capital solution. Single-source capital eliminates the inter-creditor agreement complexity that slows multi-lender deals by weeks.
Deals large enough to justify mezz complexity: Mezzanine debt structuring — subordination agreements, UCC filings, intercreditor negotiations — has fixed costs that make it economically efficient only above ~$3-5M. Below that, a higher-leverage bridge loan or second mortgage is simpler and cheaper.
Too complex for banks, too large for hard money: A $15M value-add multifamily deal needs a lender who understands complex capital stacks, can close in weeks, and has the credit flexibility to structure a subordinate tranche. That's Axios.
Price sensitivity drops at this deal size: At $5M+, developers are optimizing for structure and certainty, not just rate. A 50 basis point rate advantage matters less than a lender who won't re-trade at closing, understands the business plan, and actively helps solve deal structuring problems.
Submit your deal. We'll tell you exactly how we can structure the mezzanine tranche, what rate and leverage you qualify for, and whether a JV structure makes more sense.
Get a Same-Day Term SheetSome deals need more than debt — they need a capital partner with equity capital, operational expertise, and a long-term ownership stake in the outcome. That's where Axios's joint venture program comes in.
A real estate joint venture combines the operator's local market knowledge and execution capabilities with Axios's equity capital. The developer or sponsor brings the deal, the entitlements, the contractor relationships, and the operating expertise. Axios brings equity capital, deal structuring experience, and access to a nationwide network of operators, lenders, and exit buyers built over 1,000+ funded transactions.
Axios considers joint ventures for:
Typical Axios JV structures include:
Most equity capital is passive — the LPs write a check and wait for distributions. Axios is different. We actively help sponsors structure deals for maximum advantage: optimizing the senior/mezz/equity split to minimize blended cost of capital, stress-testing exit strategies against conservative market scenarios, identifying regulatory and permitting timelines that affect deal economics, and connecting sponsors with our network of contractors, property managers, and exit buyers. We've funded 1,000+ deals. We've seen most scenarios. That experience belongs to every JV partner.
From first call to funded — here's how Axios moves on complex capital stack transactions.
Submit your deal: property details, capital stack, senior financing in place or being arranged, mezzanine or JV equity requirement, and exit strategy. We review the deal and issue a term sheet the same day — outlining rate, leverage, structure, and fees. No committee. No week-long preliminary review process.
Before underwriting finalizes, we work with you to optimize the deal structure — not just confirm what you asked for. Is the senior/mezz split right? Would a single-source structure (Axios providing both senior and mezz) simplify execution? Would a JV equity layer reduce your overall cost of capital? We ask these questions because the right structure can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to your net returns.
We underwrite the deal against the business plan — as-complete value, exit strategy, development timeline, cost contingencies. For mezz deals with a separate senior lender, we negotiate the intercreditor agreement in parallel with due diligence. Single-source deals (Axios provides senior + mezz) skip this step entirely, accelerating the timeline significantly.
Most mezz transactions close in 3-4 weeks from term sheet execution. JV equity transactions requiring deeper due diligence may take 4-6 weeks. Either way, we're dramatically faster than the 60-90 day timelines typical in the institutional mezz market — and faster than most equity capital providers.
Once funded, draw requests for construction or renovation budgets are approved and funded the same day. We don't hold construction funds hostage to bureaucratic draw inspection cycles that slow your contractors and delay your timeline. Fast draws keep your project on schedule.
You have direct access to the Axios team through the life of the deal — not a servicing department. As your project progresses, we help plan the exit: timing the permanent refinance, identifying potential buyers, and coordinating the payoff structure to maximize your net proceeds.
Here's how Axios structured a mezzanine layer for an experienced multifamily developer acquiring a large value-add property (details anonymized):
A developer identified a 96-unit apartment complex with 1980s finishes and rents running 22% below market. The seller needed to close within 30 days to complete a 1031 exchange. Total acquisition cost: $18.5M. The developer secured a senior bridge loan at 65% LTV ($12M), leaving a $4.5M gap between senior debt and their desired equity contribution ($2M).
Axios provided a $2.5M mezzanine tranche to bridge the gap, bringing total leverage to 79% of acquisition cost. The mezzanine was structured with escrowed interest — $0/month during the 18-month value-add repositioning — with the interest reserve funded at closing. The deal closed in 24 days.
The execution: With $0 monthly payments on both the senior bridge (also escrowed) and the Axios mezz tranche, the developer had zero carrying cost during the 18-month repositioning. Renovations were completed ahead of schedule. Occupancy reached 96% at rents 19% above acquisition-level rents.
The result: Stabilized value appraised at $27.2M. The developer refinanced into permanent financing, paying off both the senior bridge and the Axios mezzanine tranche. The $2M equity contribution generated a $4.8M profit — a 3.4x equity multiple in 20 months. Without the mezzanine layer, the same deal would have required $6.5M in equity and generated a 1.7x equity multiple on a much larger capital base.
We'll tell you what we can do, same day. Rate, structure, leverage. No commitment.
Submit Your DealCompetitors in the institutional mezzanine space charge 9-11%. Axios starts at 8.5%. On a $5M mezzanine tranche held for 18 months, that difference compounds to $75,000-$150,000 in interest savings. Combined with escrowed interest (which competitors rarely offer), the blended cost advantage of financing with Axios versus a market-rate mezz lender is significant on every deal.
Multi-lender deals require intercreditor agreements between the senior lender and mezzanine lender. These agreements add legal complexity, introduce negotiation friction, and typically add 2-4 weeks to closing timelines. When Axios provides both the senior bridge loan and the mezzanine debt, this complexity disappears entirely — one term sheet, one closing, one relationship. This is rare in the market at our size range and dramatically simplifies execution.
Almost no mezzanine lender offers escrowed interest — mezzanine debt is virtually always current pay (monthly interest payments). Axios offers escrowed interest on mezzanine tranches for eligible deals, eliminating the monthly cash flow burden during development or repositioning. For developers executing value-add business plans with below-stabilized occupancy, this single structural advantage can be the difference between a deal that cash flows and one that doesn't.
We don't just lend. We help developers structure deals they might otherwise walk away from, find capital stack solutions that reduce equity requirements, and optimize exits to maximize net proceeds. With 1,000+ funded transactions across every asset type and market cycle, we've seen most situations. That depth of experience belongs to every borrower we work with.
Mezzanine and JV transactions are inherently more complex than standard bridge loans. Despite that complexity, Axios closes in 3-4 weeks on most mezz transactions. The institutional mezz market operates on 60-90 day timelines. When your deal has a compressed window — a motivated seller, a 1031 exchange deadline, a competing offer — speed matters as much on a $20M mezz deal as it does on a $5M bridge loan.
Axios lends in all 50 states. No geographic restrictions, no "preferred markets," no "we don't do deals in that state." If the deal underwriting supports it, we'll fund it. That's a meaningful advantage for developers who source deals across multiple markets or operate in secondary and tertiary markets where fewer capital providers are active.
Mezzanine and JV financing is underwritten on deal fundamentals and operator track record — not credit scores. Here's what matters:
Axios has funded 1,000+ clients across a range of experience levels. First-time operators at the mezz and JV tier are uncommon, but track record in adjacent deal types — smaller acquisitions, development at lower scale — can support a step up in deal size with the right capital partner. If your background is strong and the deal fundamentals are compelling, bring us the deal. We'll tell you what we can do.
Mezzanine debt is a layer of financing that sits between a property's senior mortgage and the equity in the capital stack. It fills the gap between what a senior lender provides (typically 60-70% LTV) and what the developer contributes as equity. Axios provides mezzanine debt from $500K to $100M with rates starting at 8.5% — significantly below the 9-11% market range.
Both sit in a subordinate position, but the security differs. A second mortgage is secured by a lien on the real property. Mezzanine debt is secured by a pledge of the ownership interests (equity) in the entity that owns the property — typically an LLC. Mezzanine lenders can foreclose on equity interests via UCC procedures in weeks vs. months for real property foreclosure. Mezzanine debt is standard for commercial real estate transactions above $5M.
A real estate JV is an equity partnership where the sponsor (developer/operator) contributes market knowledge, deal sourcing, and execution capability, while the capital partner (Axios) contributes equity capital in exchange for a preferred return and profit participation. JV structures are common for developments and large-scale repositioning deals where the sponsor needs more equity capital than they can fund alone.
In 2026, mezzanine debt rates range from 8.5% to 14% depending on leverage, deal size, property type, and borrower experience. Axios provides mezzanine debt starting at 8.5% — below the 9-11% typical for quality institutional mezz deals. Our rates reflect our credit efficiency and deal selectivity, not a willingness to take on marginal deals at below-market pricing.
With Axios mezzanine debt combined with a senior loan, total leverage can reach 90% LTC on acquisition deals and 75% LTARV on value-add deals. The senior lender typically provides 60-70%, and the Axios mezzanine tranche closes the gap. This dramatically reduces the equity contribution required from the sponsor while maintaining deal economics.
Yes. Axios can provide both the senior bridge loan and the mezzanine debt layer as a single-source capital solution, covering up to 90% of total project cost. This eliminates intercreditor agreement complexity, simplifies execution, reduces legal costs, and typically closes faster than a multi-lender structure. For developers who want maximum leverage without multi-lender complexity, single-source capital from Axios is often the best structure.
Yes — and almost no other mezzanine lender does. Axios offers escrowed interest on eligible mezzanine transactions, meaning interest is built into the loan at closing and you pay $0/month during the development or repositioning period. For value-add deals with below-stabilized occupancy or ground-up development with no income during construction, this eliminates the monthly cash flow burden that current-pay mezzanine creates.
Axios considers JV equity for ground-up development, large-scale multifamily repositioning, mixed-use development, and opportunistic acquisitions in high-growth markets. Target total project capitalization is $10M+. We prioritize experienced operating partners with defined exit strategies, strong market fundamentals, and meaningful skin-in-the-game equity contributions.
Three things stand out: rates starting at 8.5% vs. 9-11% market average; escrowed interest available on mezzanine (virtually no competitor offers this); and active deal structuring support — we don't just lend, we help optimize capital stacks. Add same-day draws, 3-4 week closings, and single-source capital capability, and Axios is a meaningfully better capital partner at the mezzanine tier than the alternatives.
Yes. Axios provides mezzanine debt and JV equity in all 50 states. No geographic restrictions or "preferred markets." If the deal underwrites, we'll fund it regardless of location — including secondary and tertiary markets where fewer institutional capital providers are active.
Submit your deal and get a term sheet the same day — rate, leverage, and structure. No commitment, no hard credit pull, no waiting.
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