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Commercial Loan Difficulties - Business Financing Options

Commercial borrowers will frequently discover that lenders and business financing brokers are not adequately proactive about commercial loan obstacles. To address this, I have published a related business loan article about business lenders to circumvent. The central point of this article is about key commercial financing obstacles which business borrowers and lenders often fail to see in time.

Unanticipated circumstances can lead to unexpected problems with a commercial loan, and borrowers should be ready for these business financing scenarios. There are several critical commercial loan difficulties to be circumvented with business financing. Business loan problems are more serious and prevalent than many borrowers would imagine.

Although some of these obstacles might be unavoidable, in most cases these business loan challenges can be overcome. By anticipating these recurring business financing problems, commercial borrowers and their advisors will be more able to take corrective action before it is too late.

(1) Proactive Commercial Loan Example Number 1: Seasoning of ownership and sourcing-seasoning assets. This commercial mortgage difficulty will not matter to all borrowers. When it does apply, business borrowers should insist on a lender without seasoning and sourcing requirements.

For a purchase, some commercial lenders will want documentation about where the down payment is coming from (sourcing). Many commercial lenders will also require business borrowers to document commercial loan down payment funds over several months (seasoning). Seasoning of ownership involves the minimum time someone has owned a commercial property before they can refinance.

(2) Avoidable Commercial Mortgage Scenario Number 2: A borrower wants to use subordinated debt (a seller second or other secondary financing) in order to acquire a commercial property with a smaller down payment.

Commercial mortgage lenders will often not permit subordinated debt. With a business loan from more flexible lenders, a business borrower will not encounter restrictions on the use of subordinate financing and will decrease the down payment required.

(3) Proactive Commercial Loan Example Number 3: Business financing that needs a long-term commercial loan. Is long-term financing really possible for a business loan? Some lenders will only offer 5 years before commercial real estate financing will expire with a balloon payment due.

For those of you who feel that is a short-term business loan, you should restrict your options to commercial lenders that routinely offer a period of 30 years for a commercial loan. Long-term business financing will help facilitate a profitable commercial property investment because monthly commercial mortgage payments will be reduced, monthly cash flow will improve and new commercial financing will not be an issue for many years.

(4) Difficult Business Financing Situation Number 4: Commercial loan recall possibilities. Commercial mortgage recall terms frequently permit the lender to call the loan (forcing the commercial borrower to repay early) prior to the expiration of the loan. This issue is not of concern to commercial borrowers whose business loan does not contain provisions permitting the lender to recall the loan.

Traditional lenders frequently put recall clauses in their business financing provisions. The conditions which can trigger recalls differ and include regular evaluation of credit history and financials by the commercial lender. If required levels of credit standards and income cannot be confirmed, the lender will enforce the recall provisions by requiring an early and immediate payoff of the business loan.

Business Financing Recall Contingency Plans: With a commercial loan recall, borrowers will need to refinance with a lender quickly. Prudent borrowers will exclude lenders that require recall agreements when evaluating business loan refinancing options.

Borrowers would be wise to exclude business loans with recall terms so that they will not be confronted with an unanticipated recall situation. If business borrowers have recall conditions in their current commercial mortgage, it will be equally wise to actively pursue commercial loan refinancing before a recall is initiated by the lender so that refinancing involves a timetable convenient to the borrower.

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