7 Pitfalls to Avoid in Getting a Commercial Building Loan

Have you ever known someone that seemed to live a charmed life? No matter what this person did, the situation would always turn out to his advantage, and you wondered what he was doing differently than you. So he got the girl you’d always secretly loved, they live in a beautiful home you could never begin to afford and drive fancy cars, and everything he touches seems to turn to gold. What are you doing wrong? Chances are it’s not so much what you’re doing wrong as what he’s doing right. He’s been able to grow his business enterprises because he knows the pitfalls of applying for a commercial building loan and is able to avoid them.1. He has always worked with lenders that haven’t required him to have a business plan that was set in concrete. He knows that it’s easier to buy commercial real estate if he has some freedom to handle transactions as opportunities arise.2. He never uses personal assets as collateral for business loans. He keeps his personal finances and business accounts completely separate.3. He avoids loans with balloon payments while opting for those lenders that will give him long-term options with more favorable terms.4. He knows that if he’s had a bad year and his most recent tax returns don’t show a favorable balance between money earned and money spent he should get his loan through a stated income lender. That way his tax records won’t be required.5. He knows the kinds of businesses that he’s most likely to get real estate loans for and focuses on them. Lenders like to fund real estate acquisitions of apartments, retail stores, and office buildings. They are less likely to help him if he’s trying to build or buy something like a funeral home, a church, or an assisted-living facility.6. He never asks for a larger commercial loan than he actually needs to buy the property he’s looking at, because he knows that lenders don’t favor loans that are in excess of the price of the property.7. He chooses a lender that does not require sourcing and seasoning of assets. What this means is that the lender will want documentation of where the down-payment is coming from and will require that he keep the funds in a specific account for as much as 6 months.Using a little financial savvy can help you turn your business dealings around to the point that you are living that charmed life you’ve dreamed of. Research the dos and the don’ts of applying for commercial loans before you ever contact a financial institution about the money you need.