$1M Junior Lien Cash-Out Across Three La Jolla Luxury Homes
La Jolla, CA — An entrepreneur needed growth capital for an operating biotech company without disturbing three low-rate first mortgages on his coastal investment homes. Helvetica structured a single $1,000,000 junior trust deed wrapping all three properties at 48% CLTV, interest-only for 24 months, so the borrower kept his in-place financing and his assets intact.
The Borrower's Problem
The borrower owned three non-owner-occupied luxury homes in La Jolla, each held in a separate LLC and each carrying an existing first mortgage at rates well below the market of the day, fixed for years forward. He needed $1,000,000 of business capital to fund a biotech company in Phase II oncology trials — on a research timeline, not a lender's.
A conventional cash-out refinance would have meant paying off and replacing that cheap senior debt across three separate loans and three separate entities, at considerably higher cost. Selling a property to raise the capital would have meant giving up appreciating coastal assets on someone else's schedule.
The Helvetica Solution
Rather than touch the seniors, Helvetica placed one junior trust deed that wrapped all three properties as a single blanket lien — cumulative loan-to-value of 48% against roughly $18.8M of market value, with a personal guarantee from the owner of the three LLCs. Interest-only payments over a 24-month term kept carrying costs predictable while the business plan played out.
Underwriting focused on the marketability of the collateral and the depth of the equity cushion. The borrower presented excellent credit and substantial reserves, but the deal worked because a low-leverage blanket lien across three highly liquid coastal properties left ample protection behind the existing senior debt.
Benefit to the Borrower
- Accessed $1,000,000 of equity without refinancing three below-market first mortgages
- No property sold and no portfolio restructuring required
- One loan, one closing — instead of three separate entity-level refinances
- Interest-only payments preserved cash for the operating business
- 24-month runway matched to the company's milestones
- Flexible exit: conventional bank takeout, a business sale, or the sale of one home
Deal Highlights
- $1,000,000 junior trust deed wrapping three La Jolla single-family homes
- 48% CLTV against approximately $18.8M of market value
- Collateral: an 11,434 SF ocean-view estate plus two homes a block from La Jolla Shores
- Properties held in three separate LLCs with an owner guarantee
- Existing senior financing left in place at its original fixed rates
- Exit: bank refinance, business sale, or sale of one collateral property
Need capital without touching your senior debt?
Helvetica structures first and junior trust deeds from $300K–$10M+ on investment and business-purpose real estate, typically closing in 3–10 days following receipt of all requested documentation.
