Commercial Mortgage Loans – What Are They?

Commercial mortgage loans are executed using real estate to collateralize the loan. Commercial mortgages are similar to residential mortgages, except that the collateral used to secure the loan is a commercial (business) building rather than a personal residential home. If the borrower defaults on the loan, the lender can seize the collateral (building) to recover the loan proceeds.

Commercial mortgage loans are not available to persons, but rather to businesses, which include partnerships, incorporated businesses, limited companies, etc. The business must be sound financially and the process to verify the business income can be more complicated than verifying the credit worthiness of a specific individual. That is why traditional commercial mortgages can take six to nine months to underwrite.

Commercial loans are procured for a variety of reasons: to buy the premises of an existing business, to make improvements or enlarge existing premises, to make commercial and residential investments or to develop the existing property in other ways. An example would be to buy already constructed business premises, like offices, shops, restaurants, or pubs. Additionally, they can also be used to buy business assets such as plant equipment and specialized machinery.

The Interest rates for commercial mortgages are generally higher than those for residential mortgages but lower than interest rates on unsecured business loans. A fixed-rate loan is the most common commercial mortgage. It is similar to the fixed rate home mortgage loan in that the interest rate remains constant throughout the term. However, the term for most commercial mortgage loans is between 3 and 10 years but they can be extended for as long as 25 years.

The commercial mortgage loan amount and interest rate that you can receive is a direct correlation of the credit worthiness assessed by the lender with respect to your ability to repay the loan. If you have an excellent business record with a verifiable profit and loss business statement then you will have little trouble getting a commercial mortgage at an attractive interest rate.

Commercial loans are not provided without extensive scrutiny regarding your business stability and profitability. The Lender usually wants to see your last three years of audited financial statements including a Profit and Loss statement, balance sheet and a cash flow forecast. Favorable business information is critical to the lender and to you because, as stated earlier, if you default on the loan the lender can repossess your property and sell it to repay the outstanding mortgage balance.

The best place to find commercial mortgage loans is on the Internet. There are enormous numbers of commercial lenders vying for your business and they all advertise on the Internet. It is possible to compare many loan quotes side by side and determine which is best for your financial situation.