Property Types
Apartments / Multi-family
Apartments or multi-family buildings are usually the first choice for commercial
lenders. In order for an apartment to be considered commercial property, it must
have 5 or more units.
Mixed-Use
Mixed–Use properties are a combination of Multi-Family Residential Apartments
and a Commercial Component, such as 2 apartments upstairs and a Retail shop or
Restaurant downstairs.
Office
Two types of offices include:
•
Entire Office Building
•
Single Office Unit
Office buildings should have a minimum of 80% occupancy and to be considered
Owner Occupied, at least 51% of the total square footage of the building should be
occupied or used by the owner of the building. Speak to your Account Manager about
Office Unit or Office Condo financing options available.
Retail
Retail properties are properties that are generally open to the public, such as a
business or service that caters to the public. Retail can be one or more tenants and
the property is utilized for retail purposes.
A free standing retail, strip center with an anchor tenant strategically placed in a
shopping center so as to generate the most traffic for all of the stores located in the
shopping center.
An Unanchored retail center is a center which is occupied by multiple tenants of which
none are anchor tenants.
Single tenant investment retail property that is occupied by one tenant, either as
investment property or owner occupied, but generally a single tenant retail is used by
the owner.
Warehouse
It can be used to house or run an individual business.
Self Storage
Can also be called Mini-Storage, and used for personal storage for lease by
consumers.
Industrial
These property types will have usage for industrial purposes. Such as
•
Manufacturing
•
Light Industrial
•
Heavy Industrial
Mobile Home Parks
Mobile Home parks are rated as 1 Star, 2 Star, 3 Star, 4 Star, and 5 Star. The Star
ranking is based on the conditions and amenities of the park.
•
A 3 Star park usually has a mix of single and double wide homes that are in good
condition. The park is attractive and offers some amenities.
•
A 4 Star mobile home park usually only has double wide homes that are skirted
and in good condition. The homes will have concrete patios or raised porches.
•
A 5 Star mobile home park can be characterized as having deluxe
accommodations, with a wide range of amenities and services. The homes are
usually set back from the curb with paved streets, sidewalks, street lights and
signs. The park is located in a desirable neighborhood and accessible to retail
and community services. The homes are late model doublewides and modular
homes in excellent condition.
The mobile home park should have at least 85% occupancy and be located in
desirable areas. Also, be cautious if the park has too many homes for sale (more than
20% of total pads) or more than 20% of total pads are rented homes owned by the
park. Another component is RV’s and how many RV’s, if any, occupy what percentage
of the MHP.
Hotel
Hotels are characterized as either Flag or Non-Flag. A Flag hotel is a branded, or
named hotel. A non-flag hotel is usually a no name hotel/motel where the owner lives
and operates the hotel/motel. When considering hotel properties, the property
should have a stable operational history. A property with a history of four or less
years should be scrutinized. The minimum acceptable occupancy is usually 60%.
Lenders prefer franchise affiliated hotels with franchise agreements extending
beyond the term of the proposed loan.
Special Purpose
These property types are unique and generally have one single use for one specific
type of business only and financing these can be difficult. They may include gas
stations, oil change facilities, and all other special purpose properties.