Using LenderMatrix
How to Use LenderMatrix Search Filters to Find the Right Lender
Every filter on the program search and the lender directory, plain-English search, sorting, reading a program card, and a method for turning a search into a…
Resources
Plain-English guides to commercial real estate and business financing, for the people asking for it and the people providing it.
For Borrowers
Business Financing
Commercial Financing With Bad Credit or a Past Bankruptcy
How commercial lenders use credit, what each kind of problem means, the loan types most forgiving of it, what lenders want from you, what the money…
Commercial Real Estate
Bond Financing for Commercial Projects
How tax-exempt and taxable bonds finance manufacturing plants, nonprofit facilities, housing and infrastructure: who qualifies, what it costs, credit enhancement, the process and compliance after closing.
Commercial Real Estate
Affordable Housing Financing: LIHTC, Bonds and Agency Loans
How affordable rental housing is financed in layers: tax credit equity, tax-exempt bonds, government-backed permanent mortgages, soft loans and deferred fees, and how lenders underwrite restricted…
Business Financing
Financing Cannabis, Hemp and CBD Businesses
Why cannabis financing is different, the loans and equity that exist for licensed operators, what lenders check, how to prepare, what it costs and how to…
Commercial Real Estate
Hard Money Loans: When They Make Sense and What They Cost
What hard money is, who uses it, how lenders size it, what it costs, the process from term sheet to payoff, terms to negotiate, and how…
Commercial Real Estate
Fix and Flip Financing: Hard Money, Lines of Credit and Partners
How flip lenders size loans on after-repair value, the six ways to fund a flip, what the money really costs, the draw process, and the mistakes…
Commercial Real Estate
CMBS Conduit Loans: How They Work and Who They Fit
Non-recourse, higher leverage and a fixed rate, in exchange for defeasance, servicers and a loan that will not change: a plain guide to conduit loans and…
Commercial Real Estate
Blanket Mortgages: One Loan for Many Properties
How blanket loans work for developers, rental investors and businesses, how lenders size them, the release clause that decides everything, and when one loan for many…
Commercial Real Estate
Mezzanine Loans and Preferred Equity: How the Capital Stack Works
Where mezzanine debt and preferred equity sit between the senior loan and the sponsor's equity, who uses them, what they cost, how intercreditor agreements work, and…
Guides
Writing a Loan Program Borrowers Find
For lenders: which criteria drive matching, why completeness matters, how to write the description, and how to keep a program true.
Business Financing
SBA 7(a) vs. 504: Which Fits Your Business
The two main SBA programs side by side: purpose, maximums, equity, rates, terms and occupancy, and when each is the better fit.
Commercial Real Estate
How Lenders Underwrite a Commercial Real Estate Loan
What a commercial lender examines and in what order: net operating income, DSCR, LTV and debt yield, the sponsor, recourse, and the documents that move a…
Business Financing
Business Loans and Business Financing: A Complete Guide for Business Owners
A plain-English guide to business financing: SBA loans, term loans, lines of credit, equipment and cash-flow products, what lenders look for and how to compare cost.
Commercial Real Estate
Commercial Real Estate Loans: The Complete Guide to CRE Financing
How commercial real estate loans work: loan types, how lenders size a loan with LTV, DSCR and debt yield, what they ask for, and how to…
For Lenders and Brokers
Guides
Responding to Financing Requests: A Lender’s Playbook
For lenders: open it the same day, decline with a reason, reply with a question, use statuses and milestones, and close the loop.
Guides
How to Find and Compare Commercial Lenders
A practical method for building a lender shortlist, comparing term sheets line by line, and avoiding the mistakes that cost borrowers time and money.
Loan Calculators
Payment, DSCR, LTV and LTC, debt yield and SBA 7(a): the numbers lenders look at first. Open the calculators
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