Finally got a small mixed-use deal to close after 3 months of back and forth

I've been trying to get into CRE financing for a while, mostly just reading and learning. Last fall I found a small mixed-use property in a suburb of Denver, two retail spots on the ground floor and three apartments upstairs. The asking was $620k, and I thought no way I get a loan on that as a first timer. I spent 3 months talking to three different lenders, gathering docs, and fixing my credit score from 660 to 710. Last week one of the local credit unions actually approved the loan at 6.8% with 20% down. I was honestly surprised they took me seriously since I don't have any commercial property experience. The lesson I learned is that persistence and a clean application matter more than a big portfolio. Has anyone else had luck with smaller deals from local banks compared to the big national lenders?

1 comments

1 Comment

olivia_morgan84d ago

Grind your credit up and show a clean app. I did the same with a small retail strip in Phoenix, local credit union gave me 6.5% when Wells Fargo laughed me out the door. Smaller banks actually look at your story not just a spreadsheet. Plus they kept my file from getting lost in some corporate black hole for weeks.