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Best Commercial Real Estate Lenders

By Randa Kriss, Olivia Chen
Last updated on May 20, 2024
Edited bySally Lauckner
Fact checked and reviewed
The SBA, banks and online lenders offer commercial real estate loans to help business owners purchase or renovate commercial property.

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Commercial real estate loans are designed specifically for the purchase or renovation of commercial properties, such as offices, storefronts or warehouses. You can also use commercial mortgage loans to purchase land and larger residential buildings, like multi-unit apartment complexes, or to refinance existing real estate debt.
The U.S. Small Business Administration, banks and online lenders all offer commercial property loans. The right lender for your business will depend on your qualifications, the type of business loan you’re looking for, and how fast you need access to capital.

How much do you need?

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We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.

Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

Here are 4 commercial real estate lenders

LenderNerdWallet RatingMax loan amountMin. credit scoreNext steps

SBA 7(a) loan

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Best for SBA commercial real estate loans

$5,000,000650

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SBA CDC/504 loan

Best for SBA commercial real estate loans

$5,000,000680
Read Review

TAB Bank - Term loan

Best for Bank commercial real estate loans

$300,000660

Funding Circle - Online term loan

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4.5/5

Best for Online commercial real estate loans

$500,000660

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Here are 4 commercial real estate lenders

Best for SBA commercial real estate loans

U.S. Small Business Administration

Max Amount

$5,000,000

Min. Credit Score

650

U.S. Small Business Administration

Max Amount

$5,000,000

Min. Credit Score

680

Best for Bank commercial real estate loans

TAB Bank

Max Amount

$300,000

Min. Credit Score

660

Best for Online commercial real estate loans

Funding Circle

Max Amount

$500,000

Min. Credit Score

660

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Our picks for

SBA commercial real estate loans

SBA 7(a) loan

Read Review

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Max loan amount
$5,000,000
Min. credit score
650
Est. APR
11.00-14.50%

Pros

  • Large borrowing maximums.
  • Interest rates are capped.
  • Long repayment terms available.

Cons

  • Personal guarantee is required.
  • Collateral is typically required.
  • Longer processing times than online lenders.
Lowest interest rate

SBA 7(a) loan

Max loan amount
$5,000,000
Min. credit score
650
Est. APR
11.00-14.50%
Lowest interest rate

SBA CDC/504 loan

Read Review
Max loan amount
$5,000,000
Min. credit score
680
Est. APR
5.00-7.00%

Pros

  • Low down payment required.
  • Repayment terms of up to 25 years.
  • Competitive interest rates.

Cons

  • Personal guarantee is required.
  • Must meet job creation or public policy goals to qualify.
  • Longer processing times than online lenders.

SBA CDC/504 loan

Max loan amount
$5,000,000
Min. credit score
680
Est. APR
5.00-7.00%

Our pick for

Bank commercial real estate loans

TAB Bank - Term loan

Max loan amount
$300,000
Min. credit score
660
Est. APR
8.99-35.99%

Pros

  • No prepayment penalty.
  • Terms range from 36 to 60 months.
  • Bank loan with online application process.

Cons

  • Requires high minimum credit score.
  • Origination fee and documentation fee charged on all loans.
  • Requires business lien and personal guarantee.

TAB Bank - Term loan

Max loan amount
$300,000
Min. credit score
660
Est. APR
8.99-35.99%

Our pick for

Online commercial real estate loans

Funding Circle - Online term loan

Read Review

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Max loan amount
$500,000
Min. credit score
660
Est. APR
15.22-45.00%

Pros

  • Cash can be available within two business days.
  • Competitive rates among online lenders.
  • Terms up to seven years.

Cons

  • Requires business lien and personal guarantee.
  • Must be in business for a minimum of two years.
  • Minimum credit score is higher than some other lenders.
May fund quickly

Funding Circle - Online term loan

NerdWallet rating 
4.5/5
Max loan amount
$500,000
Min. credit score
660
Est. APR
15.22-45.00%
May fund quickly

How Much Do You Need?

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How do commercial real estate loans work?

Commercial real estate loans are generally structured as term loans that you repay over a set period of time, with interest. Just as residential mortgages are secured by a lien on your house, commercial mortgages are typically secured by a lien on your commercial property.
To determine the amount of funding you’re eligible to receive for your business property loan, commercial real estate lenders use the loan-to-value ratio, or LTV. LTV is calculated by dividing the loan amount by the value of the commercial property you own or are looking to buy.
For example, say you have a commercial office space valued at $500,000 and a lender offers a $350,000 loan for you to buy the property. The loan amount is 70% of the property value and the lender is using a 70% LTV ratio ($350,000 / $500,000 = 0.7, or 70%).
Commercial lenders usually offer loan amounts with LTVs that range from 65% to 85%, depending on the type of property and your business’s qualifications, among other criteria. In general, the lower the LTV — and the higher the down payment you can offer — the better the interest rates you’ll be able to receive, as these factors indicate that you’ll pose less risk for the lender.

Where to get a commercial real estate loan

Banks and credit unions

Banks and credit unions typically offer conventional commercial mortgage loans — fixed- or variable-rate loans that are secured by your commercial property. These loans, often available in large amounts of up to $1 million or more, can be used to finance a variety of commercial real estate projects.
Commercial real estate loans from banks and credit unions will usually have the most competitive interest rates and repayment terms, but they’ll also be the most difficult to qualify for. Lenders will require that you have multiple years in business, excellent credit and strong business financials. You’ll likely be required to sign a personal guarantee as well.
Here are some traditional banks that you may want to consider:

SBA lenders

As an alternative to a conventional commercial mortgage, you might work with an SBA lender (typically a bank or credit union) to get an SBA real estate loan. Both SBA 7(a) loans and SBA CDC/504 loans can be used as commercial real estate financing.
SBA 7(a) loans can be used for a range of real estate-related purposes, with amounts available up to $5 million and repayment terms up to 25 years. SBA CDC/504 loans, on the other hand, are specifically designed for funding major fixed-asset purchases, such as buying real estate or renovating commercial property. These loans are also available in amounts up to $5 million (up to $5.5 million for certain projects) with terms up to 25 years.
Both SBA 7(a) loans and SBA CDC/504 loans have competitive interest rates and may allow for down payments as low as 10%.
To qualify for either type of SBA loan, you’ll generally need a good personal credit score, strong business financials and at least two years in business.
Bank of America, PNC and U.S. Bank are all SBA Preferred Lenders, which means you will be able to explore SBA loan options with those banks if you don’t qualify for their in-house commercial real estate loans.

Online lenders

Online lenders can offer access to commercial property loans with more flexible qualifications than bank or SBA loans. Some online business lenders will work with startups or business owners with less-than-perfect credit histories.
These lenders may also provide alternative types of commercial real estate loans, like hard money loans or commercial bridge loans, which can be easier to qualify for.
Many online lenders offer streamlined loan applications and quick funding — in some cases, within a few business days. Speed and flexibility come at a cost, however, as commercial real estate loans from online lenders will typically have higher interest rates and shorter repayment terms compared to bank or SBA loans.

Commercial real estate loan terms and repayment

Repayment terms on commercial property loans generally range anywhere from five to 25 years, depending on the type of property, your lender's business loan requirements and other factors. And unlike residential mortgage loans, commercial mortgages often have an amortization period that’s longer than the life of the loan.
For instance, a lender may offer a commercial property loan with a term of five years, but an amortization period of 10 years. In that case, you would make payments on the loan for five years, but the amount of each payment would be based on the loan being paid off over 10 years. At the end of the five-year period, you’d pay one final balloon payment to satisfy the remaining balance.
In other words, if you received a $500,000 loan with an interest rate of 5%, you would make monthly payments of $5,303.28 for five years, followed by a final balloon payment of $281,024.31 to pay off the debt.
Some small-business lenders, on the other hand, offer full amortization — which means the amortization period is the same length as the loan. At the end of the term, the loan is paid in full and there is no remaining balance that needs to be paid off in a balloon payment. The same $500,000 loan fully amortized over 10 years would require monthly payments of $5,303.28 over the 10-year term.

Commercial real estate loan rates and fees

Interest rates on commercial mortgage loans can also vary based on the lender, the type of loan, the value of the property you’re financing, and your business’s qualifications.
Anecdotally, interest rates range from 3% to 12%, though it’s challenging to find recent reports that confirm the average interest rate on commercial property loans in 2023. However, as a traditional lender, Bank of America’s starting rate of 5.75% may at least be a good indicator of the lowest rate you could expect with excellent credit and strong business financials.
Commercial mortgages tend to have more fees than other types of business loans. Commercial real estate lenders may charge origination fees, loan application fees, property appraisal fees, legal fees and other closing costs.

Commercial real estate loan requirements

Personal finances

Most commercial loans from banks or traditional institutions factor your personal income, personal assets and credit score into their underwriting decision. Ideally, you should have minimal debt and a decent credit score before you think about applying for a commercial mortgage, as you would for a personal mortgage. At the very least, a review of your personal financial situation will help you going into the process.

Down payment

Many lenders, including some that offer SBA financing, want to know that you have vested interest in a commercial real estate loan, and will ask for you to put a percentage of cash down. The amount of the required down payment, or equity injection, will vary depending primarily on the lending institution and your business financials.

Time in business

Lenders want to make sure your business is somewhat established with revenue trending upward before granting something as high stakes as a commercial mortgage. Most require at least two years in business, but some want to see as many as four years.

Collateral

Commercial real estate loans are typically secured business loans which means they are backed by specific collateral, in this case, the property you own or want to buy. Depending on the lender and the loan program you use, a lien may be attached to the property and your business may need to occupy a certain percentage of the building, say the SBA guideline of at least 51%.
Last updated on May 20, 2024

Methodology

NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates small-business loan products from traditional banks and online lenders. We collect over 30 data points on each lender using company websites and public documents. We may also go through a lender’s initial application flow and reach out to company representatives. NerdWallet writers and editors conduct a full fact check and update annually, but also make updates throughout the year as necessary.
Our star ratings award points to lenders that offer small-business friendly features, including: - Transparency of rates and terms. - Flexible payment options. - Fast funding times. - Accessible customer service. - Reporting of payments to business credit bureaus. - Responsible lending practices.
We weigh these factors based on our assessment of which are the most important to small-business owners and how meaningfully they impact borrowers’ experiences.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings. Read more about our ratings methodology for small-business loans and our editorial guidelines.

Wondering if you qualify?

It’s possible to get a business loan even if you have bad credit. Bad-credit business loans are available from alternative sources, like online or nonprofit lenders.

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