What lenders review
For retail property, lenders start with tenant mix, collections, lease rollover, occupancy cost, co-tenancy, and site relevance. The financing package should connect those operating facts to the requested loan, sponsor plan, and route to repayment.
Current lender appetite changes faster than a static program sheet. Capital Partners uses a private criteria database and direct lender conversations to compare the sources that are active for a specific property and structure.
Preparing the request
The first pass should establish ownership, location, current operations, requested proceeds, and the exact use of funds. Acquisition requests need a clear purchase and equity structure. Refinances need current debt, maturity, and payoff information. Construction requests add plans, permits, budget, contingency, equity timing, and completion support.
Property underwriting and sponsor underwriting run together. Lenders examine the asset while also reviewing experience, liquidity, net worth, credit, global obligations, and the people responsible for executing the plan.
Financing paths
Banks and credit unions can offer relationship-driven structures for transactions inside policy. Life companies and CMBS sources may fit stabilized assets and longer holds. Debt funds and private lenders can address timing, transition, heavier business plans, or credit issues that require a different risk framework.
SBA programs may apply to eligible owner-user properties. Mezzanine, preferred equity, and joint-venture equity can address capital-stack needs when senior debt does not provide the full required proceeds.
How we approach lenders
The team narrows the database by property type, deal purpose, capital range, geography, and current status. It then reviews the result against the narrative and any relationship sensitivities before lender outreach.
A borrower should know why a lender fits, what the likely pressure points are, and how the proposal compares with other available structures.
Published closings in this asset class
Common questions
What do retail property lenders focus on?
They focus on tenant mix, collections, lease rollover, occupancy cost, co-tenancy, and site relevance. Each lender applies its own credit policy, market preferences, and structure limits.
Which financing products can apply?
Depending on the property and business plan, the options can include bank, bridge, construction, permanent, SBA, mezzanine, preferred-equity, and joint-venture capital.
How do I see which lenders fit?
Build a capital plan with the property, deal type, requested amount, and state, then have a principal review it.