A commercial real estate loan is a business-purpose mortgage secured by income-producing or owner-occupied property such as multifamily, retail, office, industrial or mixed-use buildings.
Unlike a home loan, a commercial loan is underwritten mainly on the property and the sponsor: the income the building produces, its value, and the experience and financial strength of the people behind it. DealRail arranges acquisition, refinance and cash-out financing across banks, credit unions, debt funds, agency lenders and private lenders.
What it is used for
Buying a stabilized income property
Refinancing out of a maturing or expensive loan
Pulling cash out of a property to fund the next deal
Consolidating several properties under one portfolio or blanket loan
Buying or refinancing an owner-occupied building for your business
How it is typically structured
Loan purpose
Purchase, rate and term refinance, or cash-out refinance
Common leverage
Frequently in the 65% to 80% loan-to-value range, depending on asset type, lender and cash flow
Common terms
Often 5, 7 or 10 year terms on 25 to 30 year amortization, with fixed or floating rates
Recourse
Full recourse, limited recourse or non-recourse, depending on lender type and deal size
Terms vary by lender, property and borrower. This is general market information, not a quote or commitment.
What lenders look at
Net operating income from the trailing 12 month operating statement and current rent roll
Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR), usually tested at 1.20x to 1.35x
Appraised value and loan-to-value
Sponsor experience, liquidity and net worth
Property condition, occupancy and market
What you will need
Trailing 12 month operating statement and year-to-date financials
Current rent roll
Purchase contract (for acquisitions) or current mortgage statement (for refinances)
Personal financial statement and schedule of real estate owned for each guarantor
Entity documents for the borrowing entity
Your portal checklist is generated from your deal, so you are only asked for what your file needs.
How DealRail places it
We pre-underwrite the file before any lender sees it, build the package the way each lender prefers to receive it, and route it only to lenders whose current appetite fits the asset type, market, size and sponsor profile.
Common questions
How is a commercial real estate loan different from a residential mortgage?
A commercial loan is underwritten mainly on the income the property produces and on the sponsor, not on personal income alone. Terms are usually shorter, loans often carry prepayment penalties, and the borrower is typically an LLC or other entity rather than an individual.
What property types can you finance?
Multifamily, retail, office, industrial, mixed-use, self-storage, hospitality and special-purpose properties, along with owner-occupied buildings. Fit depends on the lender, so we match each file to lenders active in that asset type.
Can I get a non-recourse commercial loan?
Non-recourse financing is available from some lender types, most often on stabilized properties with strong cash flow and at larger loan sizes. Non-recourse loans still carry standard carve-outs for fraud, misrepresentation and similar acts.