Guides
24 step-by-step guides written for the sponsor doing the work: how to approach a lender, what to put in the package, how to read the term sheet, how to size and structure the capital, and what to do when a loan matures or a budget breaks. Each guide carries a process summary, worked examples with round numbers, common mistakes, and the questions to settle before you commit.
Getting Financed
How to approach lenders and investors, what to send, and how a request moves from first call to closing.
A practical walkthrough of getting a commercial bridge loan, from lender outreach through underwriting, closing, and the exit plan.
7 steps · 9 min read
What belongs in a commercial real estate loan request package, and how lenders read the executive summary, financials, sponsor materials, and reports.
6 steps · 9 min read
A section-by-section guide to reading a CRE loan term sheet: sizing, rate, fees, reserves, recourse, covenants, and what terms are worth negotiating.
7 steps · 8 min read
What happens between a signed CRE loan term sheet and funding: deposits, third-party reports, title, entity review, and typical bottlenecks.
6 steps · 8 min read
How soft deposit financing protects an at-risk earnest money deposit, how it is structured around contract dates, and how it rolls into the closing stack.
6 steps · 8 min read
Underwriting
How to build and present the numbers a capital provider will test: income, cost, value, sizing, and sponsor strength.
What lenders check when underwriting a CRE sponsor: net worth, liquidity, experience, the REO schedule, credit and background, and guaranty capacity.
6 steps · 7 min read
How to build trailing and stabilized net operating income for a commercial property, from income and vacancy through expense normalization and taxes.
6 steps · 8 min read
How bridge loan proceeds get sized using as-is and as-stabilized LTV, LTC, debt yield, and DSCR tests, with a worked example using round numbers.
7 steps · 8 min read
A step-by-step framework for underwriting a value-add multifamily deal, from renovation premiums and rent comps to the exit cap rate and refinance test.
6 steps · 10 min read
A commercial real estate due diligence checklist covering physical, financial, legal, environmental, zoning, tenant, market, and insurance review.
6 steps · 10 min read
Structuring
How to assemble a capital stack and choose between senior, subordinate, and equity positions for a given plan.
How senior debt, mezzanine debt, preferred equity, and common and GP equity fit together, and how each layer of a capital stack gets sized.
6 steps · 9 min read
What to do when senior loan proceeds fall short of total cost, and how mezzanine debt, preferred equity, or co-GP capital can close the gap.
6 steps · 8 min read
Why a sponsor needs GP equity, what co-GP partners underwrite, and how promote splits, fee sharing, and decision rights typically get negotiated.
6 steps · 8 min read
How land, pre-development, construction, subordinate capital, and an inventory loan fit together to finance a condo development from site to sellout.
6 steps · 8 min read
How land loans and pre-development budgets work, how lenders price entitlement risk, and how unentitled land moves toward a construction loan.
6 steps · 8 min read
How feasibility, zoning incentives, acquisition basis, construction capital, and lease-up financing fit together for an office to residential conversion.
6 steps · 8 min read
How to value a partner's interest, work through buy-sell provisions, and finance a buyout with subordinate capital or a refinance.
6 steps · 8 min read
Execution
How to run a plan after closing: carry, draws, leasing, sales, and the exit that repays the capital.
How to project monthly carry, size an interest reserve, manage draws, and plan for what happens when a bridge loan's reserve runs out before stabilization.
6 steps · 10 min read
A sponsor's guide to refinancing out of a bridge loan: stabilization targets, seasoning, agency and bank requirements, timing the takeout, and exit fees.
6 steps · 9 min read
Distress and Maturity
What to do when a loan matures, a budget breaks, or a note or payoff has to be negotiated.
How to work backward from a loan maturity date, test extension options, and prepare a refinance, sale, or bridge-to-bridge before default.
6 steps · 8 min read
What loan documents typically require for an extension, what lenders look for, and how to prepare the request and a fallback plan.
6 steps · 8 min read
How to source, price, and diligence a non-performing commercial real estate note, and the resolution paths once the purchase closes.
6 steps · 8 min read
When a lender will consider a discounted payoff, how to build the case, source the capital, and what a DPO typically requires.
6 steps · 8 min read
How to diagnose a troubled deal and choose between preferred equity, mezzanine debt, or a recapitalization to bring in rescue capital.
6 steps · 8 min read
Send the property, the plan, and where you are in the process. You will get a real answer from a principal.