Getting a Commercial Mortgage is Tougher TodayWe are, indeed, in the midst of a significant and severe credit crunch. Conventional lenders, such as banks, Wall Street investment houses and insurance companies have greatly curtailed their lending activity. Even the very best investors and developers are finding it hard to get projects funded.The collateralized debt market has dried up. Few bond buyers are interested in mortgaged backed paper today. Big institutional lenders are finding it impossible to turn the mortgages they originate into cash. Put in simple terms; no mortgage buyers, no mortgage loans.Property owners, investors and developers are left frustrated and without financing.Good Deals on the SidelinesThe dollar volume of pent-up commercial mortgage loan demand now measures in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Deals that, just a year ago, would have enjoyed quick funding are being rejected by banks out-of-hand. Not because they don’t have merit, but because the banks and their counterparts are caught up in the liquidity crises.With millions in profit potential at stake, commercial property investors are seeking out non-traditional sources of mortgage funds.Private Commercial Mortgage Loans; Funding Deals When Banks Won’tPrivately funded commercial mortgage loans are becoming increasingly popular during this mortgage meltdown. Private lenders, many funded by wealthy individuals, hedge funds or other large pools of capital, often lend their own money for their own portfolios. These unique lenders have not been crippled by the breakdown of the collateralized mortgage bond market. They can still originate loans at will without worrying about who may or may-not want to buy them.Further, private loans (sometimes called “hard money” loans) can close in just days, as-opposed to conventional loans which, if you get one at all, can take 3 months or more to fund.
There are generally no loan committees, stacks of paperwork or complicated ratios to deal with. If they like your deal and you demonstrate that you can pay them back, they can and will close your loan no-matter-what Wall Street is doing.What Private Commercial Mortgage Lenders Look forPrivate lenders are equity based lenders; loan decisions are not driven by the credit of the borrower. It is essential that the collateral property have substantial equity in it. Most hard money commercial lenders won’t lend more than 70% of the purchase price or, in the case of a refinance, the value of the commercial property. So be prepared for large down-payment requests or a good sized 2nd mortgage. Also, borrowers will need to have some cash, typically 10% or more, in any given deal. There is no-such-thing-as 100% financing today. Documentation requirements will be much less than conventional lenders would require but be prepared to back up any claims you make with some proof.
Income producing buildings are favored by hard money lenders but most are willing to consider all property types.Hard Money Commercial Loans Have Become IndispensableWith the large conventional lending institutions frozen like a deer in the headlights, private, hard money commercial lenders have become indispensable to the commercial sector. They stand ready and willing to lend against quality buildings or well thought-out development projects. Investors should not give up on finding financing for their best deals until they have looked into a privately funded mortgage.
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Commercial Mortgage Loans – Credit Crisis
In my humble opinion the credit crisis will be resolved and we as the commercial loan brokers that stuck it out will be in a strong positions when the secondary market returns. These cycles happen every 10 to 15 years. Compare what is happening right now to the saving and loans crisis. During that cycle 1009 institutions went out of business. 1009… Last week Silver State Bank went out, we’re now at 11. 11 vs. 1009…Also, The Mortgage Banker Association came out with a report last week regarding default rates on the CMBS market. Though the default rate went up from .30% to .48% we are still at 20 year lows! To me this means that the fundamental on the commercial side are still in place.How long will it take to work out? I don’t know. I’m hearing a year, maybe a year and half. However deals are still closing. They may not be as fat as they where a year ago, but if you dig deep enough you can still find doable, “closeable” loans. With that being said residential loan officers and brokers that are in the midst of diversifying their income by brokering commercial loans, don’t underestimate the transition.But don’t get intimidated. Commercial loans are not that complicated especially on deals under $3,000,000. The trick is to learn to be able to spot doable deals. Not only deals that will close, but also loans that you will have a competitive edge on. It’s all about finding the right “hair” on the deal.And don’t try to wing it. We get loan applications all the time from residential loan officers that haven’t taken the time to learn the intricacy of the business. What you can’t afford is wasting months on deals that aren’t doable from the start. Training, any type of training for commercial loans is essential if you really hope to succeed as a commercial loan broker in this market.Now is the time to bear down, not think about switching industries; in a year or two we’ll be in a position to rake it in and on comrades that left the industry will still be trying to figure out their new industry.