Bridging the Gap

The credit crisis has had a significant impact on commercial real estate and the availability of financing. Conventional lenders presently are using very conservative criteria, which is putting many deals outside of the reach of traditional banks. A new breed of alternative lenders is slowly emerging to fill this gap. They are able to take on a bit of risk and can fund deals that are just outside of bankable structures. Lenders in this new category lend for terms up to two to three years and fill the gap for nearly bankable-type transactions. These firms specialize in first mortgage loans on transactions that conventional lenders would have financed in the past. This new breed of alternative lenders, such as A10 Capital, makes loans in the $1 million to $10 million range, charges only a couple of points, and offers interest-only terms so payments are close to amortized bank loan payments.