6 Best Commercial Real Estate Loans

A commercial real estate (CRE) loan is a mortgage loan used to purchase, refinance, or renovate a commercial property. Many online and traditional lenders offer CRE loans with slightly different terms, costs, and required qualifications. A business owner should consider the purpose of the commercial real estate loan and find a lender that best serves that loan purpose. If more than one lender offers the loan, choose the lender with the rate and terms that best match your needs.

The list below includes the best providers for commercial real estate loans and what each lender is best used for:

U.S. Bank: Best overall and for long-term owner-occupied commercial real estate loans
JPMorgan Chase: Best commercial real estate loans for multifamily projects
SmartBiz: Best online platform for Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) commercial real estate loan providers
Lendio: Best SBA 504 loans for larger projects where borrowers may struggle getting a conventional bank loan
Wells Fargo: Best conventional bank loans for prime borrowers who have a high net worth
Northeast Bank: Best for niche or high-risk industries.

U.S. Bank: Best Overall Commercial Real Estate Lender

Interest Rates	5% to 7%, variable or fixed
Maximum Loan Amount	Not indicated
Term	Five to 25 years
Minimum Down Payment	20% to 35% of purchase price
Loan-to-Value (LTV) Ratio	80%
Closing Costs	2% to 5% of amount borrowed
Lender Fees	Up to 1% of amount borrowed
Time to Funding	30 to 45 days—SBA loan may be longer

Minimum Credit Score	700
Years in Business	One to five years
Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR)	Minimum of 1.25x
Collateral	May require additional collateral
Owner-occupancy Requirement	51% for traditional and SBA loans

Owner-occupancy requirement: This is a requirement of the lender that the borrower’s business must occupy a certain percentage of the property being financed—typically 50% or more.

U.S. Bank offers several types of commercial real estate loans, including SBA loans. It’s the best choice for borrowers looking for long-term, owner-occupied real estate loans with terms of up to 25 years. However, with a minimum credit score of 700 required, U.S. Bank does have higher credit requirements than the other lenders on this list.

Even though U.S. Bank only has physical bank branches in 26 states, mainly in the Midwest and western United States, its mortgage products are available nationwide through its website and local branches. In addition, even states without local branches have loan officers available locally to assist businesses with CRE loans.

While you cannot apply directly through its website, you can submit your contact information through a web form or call a toll-free number to get the application process started.

Visit U.S. Bank

JPMorgan Chase: Best CRE Loans for Multifamily Projects

Interest Rates	5% to 9%
Maximum Loan Amount	$15 million—more than $25 million for multifamily projects
Term	1 to 10 years
Minimum Down Payment	20% to 30% of purchase price
LTV Ratio	80%
Closing Costs	1% to 2% of amount borrowed
Lender Fees	1% to 3% of amount borrowed
Time to Funding	45 days

Minimum Credit Score	680
Years in Business	No requirement
DSCR	Minimum of 1.25x
Collateral	No additional collateral required
Owner-occupancy Requirement	51%

JPMorgan Chase touts itself as the nation’s leading multifamily lender, promising cost-effective financial solutions with a high-speed loan closing. The maximum loan amount for its CRE loans is $15 million, which increases to more than $25 million for multifamily projects. Newer businesses can benefit from JPMorgan Chase not having a minimum-time-in-business requirement. JPMorgan Chase requires an apartment building to have at least five units to be considered for multifamily financing.

You can contact JPMorgan Chase through its website to get started. You can also submit documents securely online. If you wish to meet with a lender in person, there are 13 branch offices located throughout the United States.

Visit JPMorgan Chase

SmartBiz: Online SBA 7(a) Commercial Real Estate Loans

Interest Rates	4.75% to 7%
Maximum Loan Amount	$5 million
Term	25 years
Minimum Down Payment	10% to 30% of purchase price
LTV Ratio	90%
Closing Costs	$5,000
Lender Fees	1% to 5% of loan amount
Time to Funding	30 days

Minimum Credit Score	680
Years in Business	At least 2 years
DSCR	Minimum of 1.25x
Collateral	No additional collateral required
Owner-occupancy Requirement	51%

SmartBiz is an excellent choice for SBA 7(a) commercial real estate loans. As there are many requirements specific to Small Business Administration loans, we encourage you to check out our article on SBA 7(a) loans before beginning the application process so you know what to expect.

Rates on SBA loans tend to be lower than online lenders’ rates and traditional bank rates because of the SBA guarantee. You can get financing of up to $5 million for up to 25 years. One other advantage over a traditional bank loan is being able to have a loan-to-value of up to 90%, reducing the down payment required.

There’s a prepayment penalty for loans with a term greater than 15 years if you prepay more than 25% of your loan in the first three years. The fee is charged against the amount you prepaid and is 5% for prepayments in year one, 3% in year two, and 1% in year three.

You can enter your business’s information and go through a prequalification process on the SmartBiz website without impacting your credit score. Check out SmartBiz’s website to get more information or to begin the application process.

Visit SmartBiz

Lendio: Best for SBA 504 Loans

Interest Rates	2.5% to 3%, fixed on the certified development company (CDC) portion 4% to 10% on lender portion
Maximum Loan Amount	Up to $14 million
Term	25 years
Minimum Down Payment	10% to 20%
LTV Ratio	90%
Lender Fees	0.375% to 0.4% underwriting fee Up to 1.5% processing fee $2,000 to $5,000 legal fee 0.25% funding fee 0.5% guarantee fee
Time to Funding	1 to 2 months

Minimum Credit Score	680
Minimum time in business	No requirement
Debt service coverage ratio DSCR	Minimum of 1.25x
Collateral	May require additional real estate assets
Owner-occupancy Requirement	At least 51%

Lendio is an excellent choice for SBA 504 loans. An SBA 504 loan is a combination of two loans: one comes from a lender and one from a nonprofit lender known as a CDC. Both loans are closed simultaneously. SBA 504 loans are good choices because they offer up to $14 million in financing for up to 25 years. In addition, SBA 504 loans allow the borrower to go up to 90% loan to value, reducing the down payment compared to a traditional loan.

Our guide on SBA 504 loans goes through the requirements and qualifications needed for the loan. Important guidelines to remember before applying for an SBA 504 loan for commercial real estate include:

Property must be owner-occupied
Jobs must be created
Business must have a net worth of less than $15 million

Lendio is a broker that can match you up with an SBA 504 lender that can help you get the right commercial real estate loan. Check out its website for more information.

Visit Lendio

Wells Fargo: CRE Loans for Prime Borrowers Who Have a High Net Worth

Interest Rates	5% to 10%
Maximum Loan Amount	$1 million
Term	5 to 10 years—up to 20 years for large projects
Minimum Down Payment	20% to 30% of purchase price
LTV Ratio	80%
Closing Costs	Minimum of 1% of closing amount
Lender Fees	1% to 3% of loan amount, $1,000 deposit required
Time to Funding	4 to 6 weeks

Minimum Credit Score	Not indicated—likely 660 or greater
Years in Business	No requirement
DSCR	Minimum of 1.25
Collateral	May require additional real estate assets
Owner-occupancy Requirement	None

For commercial real estate borrowers looking for a conventional bank mortgage loan, Wells Fargo is an excellent choice. Wells Fargo provides funding of up to $1 million for five and 10 years, although it can go up to 20 years for larger projects.

One thing to be aware of is that Wells Fargo requires the potential borrower to deposit $1,000 when accepting the conditional approval of any loan or line of credit. It’s nonrefundable if the loan doesn’t close, but if the loan is closed, it’s applied to any applicable fees due at closing. Any unused portion of the deposit is credited to the borrower after closing.

Also, if you pay the loan off within three years, there’s a prepayment penalty of 3% of the principal amount prepaid.

Wells Fargo is a good choice for those looking for their first commercial real estate loan with no years-in-business requirements. You can apply through the Wells Fargo website or at your local branch. To get started, contact Wells Fargo to be set up with a lending specialist.

Visit Wells Fargo

Northeast Bank: CRE Loans for Niche Industries

Interest Rates	5.5%
Maximum Loan Amount	$5 million for SBA $10 million for United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) $25 million for conventional
Term	Up to 5 years for conventional Up to 25 years SBA Up to 30 years for USDA
Minimum Down Payment	20% to 30% of purchase price
LTV Ratio	75% for conventional 85% for USDA 90% for SBA
Closing Costs	Up to 4% of amount borrowed
Lender Fees	Up to 3.5% of amount borrowed
Time to Funding	Typically within 30 days—shorter for bridge loans

Minimum credit score	680
Years in business	At least 2 years
Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR)	Minimum of 1.25x
Collateral	May require additional collateral
Owner-occupancy requirement	51%

Despite being a traditional bank lender, Northeast Bank closes and funds loans faster than most traditional banks. Northeast Bank funds a wide variety of industries, including:

Hotels
Gas stations
Healthcare facilities
Self-storage
Skilled trades
Retail
Assisted living

The company also offers both SBA and USDA loans.

You can submit your contact information through Northeast Bank’s website or chat with them on the site. The company also has a toll-free phone number and email address to contact them. Reach out today for more information about Northeast Bank’s commercial real estate loan products.

Visit Northeast Bank

How We Evaluated Top Commercial Real Estate Lenders

When comparing commercial real estate lenders, we examined the terms, rates, and costs of each of the lenders. We also looked at the variety of loan products offered, the time-in-business requirements, and the funding speed of each lender.

Bottom Line

While all of the companies on our list of the best commercial real estate lenders provide excellent products, each offers different maximum loan amounts with varying requirements, terms, rates, and conditions. Always compare different lenders and lending products to determine the long-term costs of a CRE loan and choose the one that works best for your business.