Commercial financing, explained before you commit.

Typically 25% to 30% for investment commercial. Owner-occupied property financed through SBA 504 or 7(a) can go as low as 10% down, which is the biggest reason to determine occupancy status early.

The line is five units. One to four units is residential regardless of whether you live there. Five or more is commercial, which means income-based underwriting, shorter terms with balloon payments, higher down payments, and a completely different set of lenders.

Generally 45 to 60 days, sometimes longer. Commercial appraisals alone often take three to four weeks, and environmental review, entity documentation, and manual underwriting add time that residential loans don't have.

Yes, and it's the norm rather than the exception. Most commercial lenders expect entity vesting and will ask for operating agreements, entity good-standing documentation, and often personal guarantees from the principals.

Debt service coverage ratio — the property's net operating income divided by its annual debt payments. Most commercial lenders want 1.25 or higher, meaning the property generates 25% more income than it needs to cover the loan.

A financing structure for owner-occupied commercial property where a bank funds roughly 50%, a Certified Development Company funds 40% through a debenture, and the borrower puts down 10%. It requires the business to occupy at least 51% of the space and generally carries below-market fixed rates on the CDC portion.