The Commercial Mortgage Loans Guide 

Recent AEX Comments: 

Commercial Mortgages

Commercial Loans - Business Cash Advances



AEX publishes commercial finance commentaries in several formats such as press releases, special reports and The Working Capital Journal. Some recent excerpts from our comments are shown below. Please contact Stephen Bush (AEX's Chief Executive Officer) for more details.


Plan B Contingency Planning for Commercial Loans

"Plan B" contingency planning can frequently help business owners avoid problems, but for business financing there is often inadequate attention paid to contingency plans and what can go wrong with commercial financing. In what might be the best possible example that business owners should formulate a contingency financing plan, a substantial number of banks have already pulled the plug on future commercial loans. In most instances, very little advance notice was provided. If a business has ANY commercial funding, a Plan B should be formulated NOW for the contingency that alternative financial arrangements could be needed in the near future. There are other examples (especially business cash advance programs and SBA loans) which will also demonstrate the critical value of why commercial borrowers should “Always have a Plan B”.


Commercial Real Estate Financing - Problems and Solutions

Commercial real estate loans are likely to include a new set of problems to overcome for small business owners. One of the major new complications appears to be determining which commercial lenders are still capable of commercial financing of any kind. Once an effective business lending source is located, some potential obstacles to successful commercial mortgages remain unchanged. Business income continues to be a key component for assessing the financial health of a business and will ultimately have an inescapable impact on the appraisal of business value needed for commercial real estate financing. In the increasingly uncertain climate for all commercial loans, practical and straightforward advice from a commercial finance expert such as AEX Commercial Financing Group is likely to be a critical ingredient of an effective business financing process for commercial borrowers.


Commercial Financing - Why Banks Say No

When exploring options for commercial financing, a critical question that business owners should ask is “What should I do if my bank says no?”. There are at least five key reasons for most rejected small business loans. I have published an article which describes several practical strategies used by AEX Commercial Financing Group for overcoming situations in which banks often say no regarding commercial mortgage loans.

I have also written a business financing article, “Why Do Some Banks Say Yes When They Mean No?” which focuses on commercial lenders sometimes offering commercial real estate loans and other commercial loans with terms that they do not expect borrowers to accept. This is often worse than the bank saying no because you will think that they said yes! This unfortunate commercial finance practice produces needless confusion and delays for business owners.


Credit Card Loans — Credit Card Financing for Business Operating Cash

In commercial finance funding, the terms credit card financing and credit card loans usually refer to business cash advances in which operating cash is obtained by business owners based upon credit card processing. These terms can also refer to the use of personal credit cards by business owners to obtain working capital. As reported in the Commercial Financing Help section of The Working Capital Journal — many lenders have suddenly cancelled or reduced business lines of credit, and small business owners have increasingly been forced to rely on cash obtained via their personal credit cards to keep their business running. In order to prepare commercial borrowers for questionable credit card actions being taken by many lenders, please review our Working Capital Journal discussion “Credit Cards - Predatory Lending at its Worst”.


Stated Income Business Financing

For commercial borrowers seeking stated income commercial mortgage loans, there have recently been significant changes which have resulted in less availability for commercial real estate loans based upon a stated income underwriting approach. A stated income process (no tax returns, no income verification, no IRS Form 4506) for commercial mortgages has been effectively eliminated by most business lenders (and some stated income commercial lenders have gone out of business altogether).

The primary commercial finance approach where we have not yet seen changes in stated income business financing involves business cash advance programs (credit card receivables factoring). For most merchant cash advances using credit card processing, income documentation is typically necessary only for larger business cash advances (and since financial statements and tax returns were previously required for larger working capital advances, this does not represent a change).

Commercial Finance - Fake Articles

At a minimum, a fake article about commercial loan topics such as business cash advances and commercial mortgages can result in unnecessary confusion for commercial borrowers. A much bigger risk is that improper commercial financing decisions could be based on inaccurate articles.

The use of reputable publication sites is one of the most effective ways to avoid fake business loan articles. Many of these sites have an author summary for a concise overview of work published by a specific author. A commercial financing expert is likely to have published articles about a variety of complex subjects such as working capital funding, credit card financing and SBA loans.


Business Finance Misinformation

The recent chaos in financial and credit markets has included misleading information about the availability of business financing. One harsh reality that is true for commercial mortgages and other commercial financing: many regional and local banks (and also some banks operating throughout the United States) have discontinued all or most of their commercial lending activities. However, there continue to be to reliable funding sources for commercial real estate loans, business cash advances and working capital financing. The current credit conditions will prove to be difficult for most businesses, and the practical problem-solving expertise of a business finance expert such as AEX Commercial Financing Group should be considered by commercial borrowers in need of obtaining new business funding or refinancing business debt.


Business Cash Advance Changes

The current chaos in commercial financing has changed how business cash advances are being used by most businesses. While there are still other working capital management choices which should be considered, the harsh reality for most business owners is that effective options to get operating cash quickly have changed.

On balance, the three changes noted below have significantly INCREASED the positive arguments in favor of the AEX Business Cash Advance Program.

(1) A growing number of banks (especially local and regional banks) have chosen to sit on the sidelines for a while with their business lending activities.

(2) Unsecured lines of credit seem to have vanished for most small businesses.

(3) Banks are demanding more collateral for business financing.


How Bad News Can be Good News: 

Commercial Property and Business Opportunity Investing

In the world of commercial financing for small business owners, these are certainly not the best of times for most businesses. However, it is precisely the less-than-ideal financial conditions that are likely to result in an attractive price when purchasing either a business opportunity or supplies. For those unfamiliar with “contrarian investing”, the best buying opportunities often occur during times dominated by excessive pessimism. This is due in large part to sellers feeling that times will get much worse before they get better, which results in a willingness to accept a lower selling price than they would otherwise. In these challenging times, AEX Commercial Financing Group has several working capital financing strategies to assist commercial borrowers obtain funding for circumstances such as the two following scenarios.

First, for inventory acquisition, many suppliers are offering unusual discounts when they are paid in cash. In most cases they are primarily influenced by (1) the possibility that they will not be paid in a timely manner and (2) their own cash shortfall for funding payroll and other basic expenses.

Second, poor business conditions have similarly produced some difficulty for business owners currently trying to sell their business. In most of these situations, the selling price has been reduced and/or the seller is willing to include financial help in the form of seller financing for a portion of the selling price.

Commercial Construction Loans

In today’s challenging business borrowing climate, it is important for small business owners needing commercial construction loans to seek out a commercial finance expert who can discuss the feasibility of obtaining funding help. AEX Commercial Financing Group can arrange construction financing for financially-sound commercial projects in most areas of the country.

UPDATE — The timetable for construction funding has increased significantly, and many sources have stopped accepting new loans. Please contact us for updated guidelines.

Recent commercial loan uncertainties have resulted in an apparent shortage of business financing for construction of new commercial property. The current financial circumstances coupled with a shrinkage of capital for commercial real estate loans in general and commercial construction funding in particular mean that commercial borrowers should look beyond their local market area for commercial financing help.


Changes for Business Finance Funding

An important change issue for commercial finance funding: there are both real and apparent changes due to widespread inaccuracies about the availability of business finance funding. Another key change issue for commercial financing is the likelihood that more changes from commercial lenders will be forthcoming soon. Small business owners should adequately prepare for both current changes and future changes that might occur. A practical strategy for dealing with the changes involving increased collateral requirements, fewer lenders and reduced unsecured credit lines is the use of an effective business cash advance program.


Executive Summary —

Business Cash Advance and Credit Card Processing

AEX has prepared an executive summary about working capital advances (also referred to as business cash advances, credit card receivables financing and credit card factoring). Topics include (1) reasons for obtaining a working capital advance based upon credit card processing activity; (2) problems to avoid with a merchant cash advance; (3) criteria for credit card financing up to $300,000 and more in some cases; and (4) why AEX advises that commercial borrowers avoid the use of online business financing applications for all commercial financing.