Commercial mortgages – money is available if you are willing to pay the price
Authors: E. Roulac Stephen 
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The questions of loan availability and pricing were considered from the perspectives of financial economic theory and practice as well as a survey of lenders capable of financing a one-year bridge loan to determine the market's willingness to make such a loan and what rate of interest would be charged. Utilizing the sources above, in conjunction with professional knowledge and industry contacts, 101 lenders were selected as representative of the universe of lenders who had the capacity to make directly or otherwise to arrange, a $192 million bridge loan. The survey of lenders involved interviews with 67 of the 86 selected lenders from 59 firms. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Loan availability and pricing were considered from perspectives of financial economic theory and practice plus a survey to determine market's willingness to make a loan at what price. Utilizing professional knowledge and industry contacts, 101 lenders were selected as representative of those which had the capacity to make a $192 million bridge loan. When lenders were evaluated against criteria of size, product type, geographic territory, and willingness/capability to provide nonstandard loans, list selected for telephone interviews was narrowed, then subsequently expanded with referrals that led to identification of new potential lenders to be contacted.

Findings

– Nine lenders offered conceptualized deal structures to provide the required financing. Though the price may be expensive, especially relative to what borrowers may wish to pay, financing is available. Developers’ and deal-makers’ protestations that “it's impossible,” should be discounted and rejected. Because the subject property is characterized by high-risk, it is logical conclusion that the lenders expressing a desire to provide the bridge loan would expect to earn a high return, meaning that the interest rate would approach, if not exceed, 20 percent.

Research limitations/implications

– Because the nature of the research required that the specific identities of the building and the parties were not revealed, some lenders might decline to consider this financing opportunity. And, real world negotiation of financing terms could result in higher rates than quoted and/or disinclination of lenders to proceed. Because of very specialized circumstances surrounding this proprietary research, conducted subject to nondisclosure agreement, publication had to be deferred until those constraints no longer applied. Though the data are more than a decade old, this consideration does not compromise the relevance, validity, or generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

– Markets can accommodate transactions that might be perceived as improbable. Investors which approach opportunities with creativity and open mind, can make deals that would not be possible, were strict, rigid, unbending eligible deal preference parameters to be employed. Strategists establishing policies for real estate enterprises should insist on progressive, expansive thinking in turning the scope of their potential venture involvements. Real estate education and training should address more attention to financial economic theory, strategic initiative, and creative deal making, which priority topics are too seldom prioritized, with the consequence that too many in real estate think narrowly rather than expansively.

Social implications

– This research substantiates a fundamental theory of financial economics and refutes conventional applied wisdom. Seldom do researchers and investors have the opportunity to “get inside” the lending decision process for a large scale commercial property, especially one characterized by daunting circumstances and considerable complexity, such as studied here. A unique real world date set – not normally accessible to property scholars – enables study of the proposition that every commodity has a price, no matter how severe or difficult the circumstances, in a manner fully congruent with the new AACSB Business School Deans policy emphasis on relevance in addition to rigor.

Originality/value

– As commercial mortgages much less studied than residential mortgages, this paper is significant addition to undeveloped segment of literature. As the majority of mortgage finance research, estimated to be in the range of 90 percent, has been limited to single family residential financing, the study of commercial mortgage financing is relatively under-researched. Further, the studies of commercial mortgage finance tend to be illustrative case studies with stylized facts rather than explorations of empiricism-based investigations. As most researchers engaged in exploring real estate topics limit themselves to public information, research that provides access to real world private transactions is especially important.