Commercial Loan Blog

April 29, 2014

Hard money lenders make temporary loans, or bridge loans, with high interest rates and loan origination points. Most hard money lenders charge interest rates averaging 10.00% to 14.00%. Points can average between 3.00% and 10.00%. At Apartment Loan Store, we offer hard money bridge loans starting at 6.00%.

So why would someone want to use a hard money lender? Here are seven reasons why:

April 22, 2014

In last week’s post, “Customer Service for Apartment Loans,” we covered examples of poor customer service when it comes to multifamily financing, which also applies to any type of commercial loan. This week, we give you 10 examples of excellent customer service from multifamily lenders – the types of things you should look for in getting your multifamily loan.

10 Examples of Excellent Customer Service from Multifamily Lenders:

7 Key Components Needed for a Commercial Construction Loan to Work

1. An Experienced Development Team – When I first started lending on commercial construction projects over 20 years ago, it was so much easier to get a commercial construction loan. These loans were made primarily to the quality of the project and the development team – we are talking about the developer, architect, general contractor and property manager’s experience. This gave the lender a cozy feeling that the construction would be completed on time and at budget. Today the lender…

April 18, 2014

If you plan to keep your apartment building for a long time, and are looking for a long-term fixed-rate mortgage, we will direct you to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD/FHA, Insurance Life Companies, and Commercial Mortgage Backed Security (CMBS) loans. These rates can be fixed from 10 to 35 years and have terms (loan matures) of the same duration. A HUD loan has a 35-year fixed rate lower than most commercial banks’ five-year fixed rates—and yes, it is fully amortizing (has a 35-year amortization). If you plan to keep your property for life and pass it on to your kids,…

April 17, 2014

How important is customer service for apartment loans? Customer service is the heart of everything to do with multifamily financing, as well as any other type of commercial loan.

In selecting a loan company, you need to make sure that the multifamily lender is exemplary in customer service. Why? Because, for example, if a multifamily lender delays returning your calls for many days, you could lose the opportunity to purchase the property. Or what if a loan source delays loan processing for weeks, and interest rates rise substantially? This could make a…

April 16, 2014

Commercial hard money lenders make loans to borrowers who have poor credit, insufficient personal income, or are in need of loans on commercial properties that are not stabilized or need rehabilitation. These lenders are also called commercial bridge loan lenders, and also make loans to strong investors who have good credit and are looking to purchase a value-added commercial property. A value-added property is one that is usually in a decent neighborhood but has not been managed well. Usually these properties are purchased from a bank that has foreclosed on them. The…

April 9, 2014

Apartment financing options for multifamily properties of five units or more are available in America today in six categories. At Apartment Loan Store, we've specialized in all of these apartment financing options since 1997:

Fannie Mae – Minimum Loan for most lenders is $1,000,000. However, Fannie Mae will go down to $300,000. (But it is very challenging to find a FNMA lender willing to do a loan under $500,000.) These loans can be fixed from 5 years to 30 years (the longer you fix the rate, the higher the rate), have…

April 8, 2014

In an article posted last week, "Due Diligence for Apartment Financing—A Lifeline for Success in Owning Your Apartment Complex," we covered how vitally important it is to do due diligence in acquiring a multifamily loan. We also mentioned how important due diligence is in all steps of acquiring and owning an apartment complex.  

You would be surprised to know how many loan inquiries we get from people who know next to nothing about multifamily properties. They have no idea what it takes to select, finance, and run an apartment complex. Their attitude is…

Apartment Loan Store has specialized in bad/poor credit apartment/multifamily loans since 1997 for investors with less than good credit. With three programs to choose from (see below) our poor credit apartment loan specialists will find the poor credit apartment financing that is right for you. To start improving your credit score yourself you can get some great credit repair advice from the Federal Trade Commission. Go to: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0058-credit-repair-how-help-yourself

It also makes sense for you to pull your own credit report for free…

April 6, 2014

The Quality of the Cash Flow:

April 5, 2014

Since the recession in 2008, it has been much more challenging to obtain a commercial loan. By late 2008, occupancy levels on multi-tenant real estate properties like office buildings and shopping centers started to drop dramatically in the United States. Lenders didn’t seem to know where the bottom would be on falling real estate prices and lower occupancies on commercial properties. Federal regulators went through the loan files with a fine-toothed comb, looking for any signs of insolvency on behalf of the borrowers, the business, or the property. Underwriting…