How easy is it to get a Commercial Mortgage in the UK?

As is the case when applying for any mortgage, be it a residential or acommercial mortgage, the better your credit and the better the collateral, theeasier the process becomes. But that doesn't mean that if your credit is lessthan perfect, or you want to purchase commercial property in a less thendesirable part of the city, that you are automatically locked out of gettingthe money you need. It just means that you need a "friend" in the business.

When you are applying for a commercial mortgage your potential lender willconsider your credit rating, your business' balance sheet, the purpose of theloan, and the type and location of the proposed property as well as thatproperty's appraised value. If every one of these items do not fall within thelender's acceptable guidelines then you may get a "no thank you" instead of apile of money. Considering the amount of paperwork that you may have tocomplete in order to get a decision, be it a positive or negative one, you wantto make sure that you have the best chances of securing that loan before youeven start.

And that is where having a "friend" in the commercial mortgage business comesinto play. If you were going duck hunting, and only had one shell with you,then you'd better be a pretty good shot. On top of that, you'd better not beplanning to serve roast duck to a crowd because you're only coming home withone duck if any. Oddly enough, the same holds true when you are applying for acommercial mortgage.

Different lenders have different requirements for granting an approval. Sinceyour goal is to make getting a commercial mortgage loan approval as easy aspossible then you need to carry more than one shell with you. The best way todo that is to use the services of a commercial mortgage broker. A brokerrepresents you and submits your commercial mortgage loan application to manylenders. Your "one shell" turns into a whole case of ammo as your applicationmakes it across the desk of potentially hundreds of lenders. The odds aregreatly in your favor that you are going to get an approval from at least onelender and, the truth is, many borrowers end up with several interested lendersand can actually negotiate the terms and conditions which suit them exactly.

Since your commercial mortgage loan broker doesn't earn their fee unless youget approved, they work with you to make getting a commercial mortgage loan aseasy as possible. And, since the broker gets paid by the lender and not you,there is absolutely no reason not to engage their services.

Even if you had access to the same quantity of lenders as a broker does, youwould have to fill out a separate commercial mortgage application and submit itto each lender. That process alone would take you more time than it takes todrive across the continent. A broker uses the same application and sends it toall of their lenders. That fact alone makes it easier to get a commercialmortgage than doing it yourself does. Even better is the fact that the brokeralready knows the terms and conditions that each of their lenders utilize. Thebroker will only send your application to those lenders whose qualificationsyou already meet.

Just like with everything else in life, there is an easy way and a hard way. Ifyou're looking for the easy way to get a commercial mortgage loan then Isuggest finding the best broker for your needs and let them do all the work. Itdoesn't get any easier than that!

About the Author
Commercial Lifeline are independent Commercial Mortgage brokers saving you money on your Commercial Mortgage and Bridging Finance through lender choice.

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