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Commercial loan underwriting guidelines come down to cash flow ( DCR), loan to value (LTV), credit worthiness and property analysis. Although the process to evaluate a potential commercial mortgage is basically the same from one bank the next, their various appetite for both risk and minimum rates of return are what separates one bank from the next.

Underwriting Commercial Loan Cash Flow

Cash flow is paramount to underwriting commercial loans. Within the industry the cashflow analysis is refereed to as the Debt Coverage Ratio ( DCR). For both owner occupied and investment transactions underwriters normally want to see ratio’s above a 1.20. In other words, for every $1 of mortgage debt the property or business has to have $1.20 of net income to meet the mortgage payments.

Debt coverage ratio minimums vary from one lender to the next, property type and occupancy (investment or owner occ). “Riskier” property types such as hotels or car washes will be required to have higher cash flow levels, ie DCR at or above 1.3.

Credit Worthiness

The borrowers personal and business credit worthiness is also important and will be heavily scrutinized. Personal credit scores have become a bigger issues as the acceptance of the three bureau have become widespread. D & B’s as well as other measures are normally used to asses the creditworthiness of businesses that are involved.

Property Analysis Commercial Underwriting
Fair market rent and fair market value is heavily measured. Condition, age, appearance, town population, market trends as well as other more property type specifics are examined.

Commercial Underwriting – Loan to Value

Loan to value is simply the value of the subject property vs the loan amount. I.e if the property is worth $2,000,000 and the loan amount is $1,500,000 the LTV is 75%. This is a huge issue within commercial loan underwriting and a big separator between lending institutions. Some lenders will get very aggressive with this while other will be very conservative.

The property type has a major influence on loan to values that are offered on commercial loans. For example restaurant loans will normally be capped at 65% while more general purpose properties such as retail will be limited to 75%.

Commercial underwriters will give more leeway to buildings that are owner occupied vs. investment properties. Loan to value on purchase can go as high as 90% on owner occupants vs 75% on investments, for example.

Author: Jeff Rauth
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Up until recently restaurant financing, was burdensome and very limiting. Not only are there only a few lenders interested in restaurant financing, refinancing for this type of business is very difficult to obtain. If you are already in the restaurant business or are planning to open a restaurant, you really do have only a handful of lenders to choose from and even they remain overly cautious with very conservative guidelines.

Thankfully, in the past few years there have been a few more lenders decide to offer restaurant financing, and a few more options. For example, no you can look at stated income loans or loans that are amortized over 30 years. The main reason for the conservative lending patterns is that the restaurant industry has almost twice as many bankruptcies as any other industry. Plus this industry has a lot of seller financing which makes it riskier and more complicated for financial institutes.

When a restaurant loan is underwritten, it focuses more on the debt coverage ratios, loan to value ratios, your credit worthiness, and other more traditional requirements. The debt coverage ratio is the most important and is usually quite conservative around 1:1.3 meaning that for every $1.30 of net income the mortgage payment can’t be over $1.00.

Stated income loans are relatively new for restaurant financing, and they’ve come to be because of the cash nature of the restaurant business. It’s an excellent option for you if your net income isn’t enough for a traditional loan.

The restrictions on most loan to value ratios usually tops out at 60% except in some high leverage loans where it might be as high as 90%. All of these numbers really are dependent on both the lender and your personal situation. Restaurant financing is one type of lending that doesn’t have a cut and dry set of requirements. Your personal credit score will almost always come into play with restaurant financing, with a credit score of 640 being about the lowest credit score that lenders will look at.

Restaurant financing may be a little more difficult than other types of business financing, but you should never let that stand in your way. Online lenders are much more flexible than traditional lending institutes like the banks, so do your research, and explore all your options.

Above all, never give up on your dreams. If owning a restaurant is your dream, then keep at it until you find restaurant financing that works for you!

Author: Gordon Petten
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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