Insights
Approval is a milestone, not an outcome. The gap between approved and funded is where the actual risk lives.
Open liens, an unreleased mortgage from a prior owner, an easement nobody disclosed, a boundary that doesn't match the legal description — none of these are exotic, and all of them take days or weeks to clear regardless of how motivated everyone is.
Ordering title early is the cheapest thing you can do to protect a closing date. It costs nothing to find the problem in week one instead of the week you're supposed to fund.
Commercial appraisals take longer than residential ones, need access to the property, and often need the rent roll and operating statements before the appraiser can start. Every one of those is a dependency on someone who doesn't have your deadline.
When the value does come in low, the deal isn't necessarily dead — but the conversation about more equity, less leverage or a repriced structure has to happen immediately, not after another week of waiting.
Operating agreements, articles, certificates of good standing, EIN letters, authorised-signer resolutions, and the same package again for any entity that guarantees. If the borrowing entity was formed for this transaction, none of it exists yet.
It's administrative work, which is exactly why it gets deferred — and then it becomes the last item outstanding while a seller decides whether to extend.
Contract extensions, deposit release conditions, seller patience and lender timelines all move on different clocks. Know which of them are actually negotiable before you need them to be.
The one variable you control is when you start. Almost every closing that goes badly was a closing where the file was assembled after the clock started rather than before.
General information about commercial real estate financing. It is not legal, tax, accounting or investment advice, and it does not describe the terms available on any particular transaction.
Tell us about the transaction. You'll get a straight answer about whether it fits — including a fast no if it doesn't.
When Banks Stall, Maverick Moves.
Submitting deal information does not constitute an application for credit. Nothing here is an approval, a denial, a commitment to lend, or an offer of credit. All financing is subject to underwriting, third-party reports and final credit approval.
