Commercial real estate refinancing is expiring

Published: Monday, May 7, 2012 at 7:37 a.m.

Summary: The U.S. Small Business Administration's temporary 504 refinancing program will come to a screeching halt Sept. 27. Unless Congress extends the deadline, small businesses with owner-occupied commercial properties might be less able to pay off balloon mortgages coming due. Others will miss the opportunity to lock in current rates below 5 percent.

Key Quotes: Lower property values along with tighter credit are a double whammy for business owners trying to refinance. But under the 504 refinancing program, borrowers can get up to 90 percent of value. What is more, most transaction costs and qualified working capital, projected for the next 12 months, may be included.

The maximum loan amount is around $9 million to $10 million, depending on the type of property and how much risk the first mortgage lender is willing to take. The approximate minimum is $250,000.

Read the full article at: Commercial real estate refinancing is expiring.

A. Joseph Marshall
Coldwell Banker Commercial
Commercial Real Estate Advisor
Savannah, Ga

Money for Small Businesses

(Originally published November 2010).

A new $30 billion small business fund, created in September as part of the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010, will provide caplital to community banks, along with incentives for small-business lending.

The government estimates that the $0 billion could leverage up to $300 billion in new loans. The bill also permanently increases the maximum loan amount (from $2 million to $5 million) for two Small Business Administration loan programs- SBA 7a and SBA 504- and introduces noteworthy tax breaks for the self-employed, including one for 2010 health insurance costs.

From the December/November 2010 REALTOR magazine p. 11.