Checklist

Commercial mortgage deal submission checklist

The commercial mortgage documents a lender needs to move your file from a conversation to real terms.

Halftone illustration of a construction crane.

Property documents

The building has to speak for itself. A current rent roll showing unit mix, rents, vacancy and lease expiry is the first thing an underwriter opens. Copies of the leases back it up, especially anything with a large tenant or an unusual clause. Add the most recent appraisal if one exists, an environmental Phase 1 for anything industrial or with a history of commercial use, the current property tax statement and an insurance binder showing coverage and the loss payee. Operating statements for the last two years round out the picture, because net operating income is what sets the loan amount.

Borrower documents

Lenders underwrite the sponsor as closely as the asset. Prepare a personal net worth statement with supporting detail on other properties held, a signed credit consent for each guarantor, corporate records for the borrowing entity showing directors and share structure, and two years of financial statements for the operating or holding company. A short biography covering what you own and what you have built carries real weight on construction and value add files.

Deal summary

One page, plain language. Purchase price or the refinance amount you are asking for, the use of funds broken down honestly, the equity you are contributing and where it comes from, and the timeline including any firm dates. If the file is a refinance, say what the existing debt is and how it gets repaid. This page is what a broker turns into a lender submission package, and a clear one gets read first.

What speeds up an approval

Completeness beats speed of submission every time. A commercial deal submission in BC that arrives with the rent roll, the leases and the borrower package together will usually get terms while an incomplete file is still collecting emails. Flag the problems yourself: a vacancy, a soft tenant, a past environmental issue. Underwriters find them anyway, and a disclosed issue is a condition while a discovered one is a decline. Answer questions in hours rather than days, and keep one version of every document so nobody is comparing two rent rolls.

FAQ

Submission questions we hear most.

No. A rent roll, a summary of the request and basic borrower information are enough for an early read. The full package matters once a lender is interested, because that is when a soft yes turns into terms.

The borrower does, and the reports are ordered through the lender or an approved appraiser so the lender can rely on them. Budget for both early, because report timing is the most common reason a closing date slips.

Lenders generally want the two most recent fiscal years plus interim statements if your year end is more than six months back. Older numbers invite questions that slow the file down.

Ready to send us the file?

Borrowers can send what they have and we will tell you what is missing. Referring brokers keep the client and get paid at funding.

Submit your deal Refer a file as a broker