On June 20, LAMA hosted a luncheon featuring some of the most aggressive lenders in the owner-occupied space. Moderated by Chris Rabenold of Harvest Small Business Finance, this panel was both informative and entertaining.
Featured speakers were Vanna Truong of Wells Fargo, Rick Pak of United Business Bank, Jacky Dilfer of BFC Funding (CDC), and Paula Bravo of Columbia Healthcare Banking. Together, they discussed which deals are getting done, what to expect from their sector of the capital markets, and the overall impact on Main Street.If you’ve been on the hunt for commercial debt in California, you’ve likely been exposed to high interest rates that effectively wipe out any prospective gains in our already low cap rate environment. In the past 18 months, bank closures, inflation, and a wishy-washy Fed have put a chill on mortgage banking. Even great deals, in core markets, with strong sponsors are getting pushback from lenders. Much like the new wave of dating apps geared towards elder millennials, one-off transactions are out. Hefty deposits and promises of a long-term relationship, are the only way you’re getting into lenders’ balance sheets these days.
As a result, business banking and owner-occupied real estate have taken center stage. With internal pricing metrics, national banks have been able to slash rates to undercut competition, while regional and private lenders have remained reliable resources for deals needing more structure and flexibility. Additionally, the SBA has amended their guidelines, allowing for 7(a) mortgages to be refinanced into their fixed and less expensive 504 program, providing more business owners the opportunity to purchase properties from which they can operate.
If you are a commercial mortgage lender or broker and would like more updates about upcoming LAMA events, you can join our LinkedIn Group here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/5157122/
Questions can be forwarded to LAMA Chair, David Rosenthal drosenthal@lamacref.com