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.

A few of these business financing problems will be unavoidable, but in most cases these commercial loan challenges can be met successfully. Business borrowers and their advisors will be better prepared to take appropriate and timely corrective action by properly anticipating these recurring commercial financing difficulties.

(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.

Many commercial lenders will request business borrowers to document the source of the down payment (sourcing). Commercial lenders sometimes require that funds for a commercial mortgage down payment be verified, often for a period of up to 12 months (seasoning). If a lender imposes a minimum time a commercial property must be owned in order to refinance, this indicates seasoning of ownership.

(2) Difficult Business Financing Situation Number 2: A borrower wants to use a substantial amount of subordinated debt (a seller second or other secondary financing) to reduce the amount of cash needed to purchase a commercial property.

Many commercial loan programs will not permit a seller second. With business financing through less restrictive commercial lenders, a borrower will be able to employ a seller second and reduce their down payment needs.

(3) Difficult Business Financing Situation Number 3: A commercial loan that won't work without long-term financing. What is long-term financing for a commercial loan? Some commercial lenders view 3-5 years as the longest period before business financing will be subject to a balloon payment.

If you think that describes short-term commercial loan terms rather than long-term, you will be pleased to discover the lenders that will provide 30-year business financing. A long-term business loan will frequently be the factor that creates a successful commercial investment scenario because a new commercial mortgage will not be needed for many years and monthly payments will be substantially decreased.

(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.

Contingency Plans for a Commercial Loan Recall: When confronted with a commercial mortgage recall notification, borrowers will have little recourse other than to seek refinancing. When considering alternative sources of business financing, prudent borrowers will eliminate potential lenders that impose similar recall provisions in new financing.

To avoid this undesirable recall possibility, commercial borrowers would be wise to include only business financing without recall terms. For borrowers with recall terms in their current commercial loan, it will be equally wise to consider commercial mortgage refinancing prior to an unanticipated recall.

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