Kevin Tucker - Commercial RE Lender

About Us:

At CapWest Commercial Lending, we are committed to offering flexible commercial mortgage lending solutions to meet your needs. As a team of lending experts focused solely on commercial real estate lending, we listen and develop an in-depth understanding of your requirements and offer solutions that help save you time and money.

This allows us to apply a common sense approach to underwriting and therefore assist borrowers that may be underserved by traditional lenders.

With CapWest Commercial Lending, you can expect:

A fast, flexible and easy loan process

Personal attention to all steps in the loan process

A lending product unparalleled in the industry

Backing of our $540 Million parent company,
Farmers Bank & Trust, N.A.

As a small business owner or real estate investor we invite you to join the thousands of other commercial property owners who have put their confidence in us and are now satisfied CapWest Commercial customers.

Experts in 90% Loan to Cost Commercial Financing

We are the acknowledged experts in providing small to mid-sized businesses with 90% loan-to-cost owner-occupied commercial real estate financing through our Smart Choice Commercial Loan Program.

Our financing program can benefit small business owners in the following ways:

• Get 90% financing of the total project costs to preserve more capital.
• Own an appreciable asset while lowering current real estate expenses up to 40% instead of leasing.
• Receive up to 25-year fully amortizing terms to lessen the impact on cash flow.
• Obtain below-market, long-term fixed interest rates.
• Secure 24-hour pre-approvals, three-day commitments and 45-day closes for the quickest turnaround time in the industry.

With our 90% loan-to-cost loans, owners of small and mid-sized businesses can preserve capital and maximize cash flow to better afford purchasing commercial property instead of leasing.

CapWest is the preferred alternative to ordinary banks and lending institutions. We do not set unrealistic expectations, and we always keep our clients in the loop throughout the entire loan process. CapWest strives to give fast and accurate responses to our borrowers every step of the way. We are unmatched in our attention to excellence in customer service, turnaround time, knowledge and professionalism.

At CapWest Commercial Lending, we understand that for small business owners especially, time is a valuable and often scarce commodity. As small business owners ourselves, we have these same constraints. We have therefore shortened our loan application requirements to the following required six documents for pre-approval (please understand that this is for pre-approval/pre-qualification purposes only and that a complete application will be required for a formal commitment letter, assuming approval).

Upon receipt of these documents and an approximate amount you would like to finance, we guarantee pre-approval within 24 hours (assuming you qualify). Just send us by fax, email, overnight mail the following documents:

• The Authorization to Release Credit Information Form(s) for all principals*.
• Personal Financial Statement(s) for all principals*.
• The last three years of complete personal income tax returns for all principals*.
• The last three years of complete corporate tax returns for the business/operating company.
• Business Schedule of Liabilities on the business/operating company dated within the past 90 days.
• Interim financial statement(s) (Income Statement/Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet) for the business/operating company dated within the past 90 days.

* Principals are any proprietors, partners and stockholders owning 20% or more of voting stock and all guarantors.

Preferred projects are owner-occupied properties (acquisition or construction) between $300,000 and $6,000,000; however this is not an absolute requirement.

Things to know when buying Commercial Real Estate

Top Ten Things to Know When Buying Commercial Real Estate for Business Owners

This is a list of the top ten things to do when purchasing commercial real estate when you are a business owner. This article will give you valuable information.

1. Get organized - most competent lenders can give you a checklist of their needed documents immediately. Full documentation loans are worth spending the extra time on in order to get organized and shave a couple hundred basis points (100 basis points equals 1.0%) off interest rates. This will add up to tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, over the life of your loan.

2. Get pre-approved - this saves you time by knowing what you can afford to "shop" for. There is no sense wasting your time or your real estate broker's time looking at $3 million buildings if you can only afford a $ 300,000 one. Lenders have gotten very efficient and accurate with these (assuming you provide the documents they need to examine), often issuing these in as little as 24 hours.

3. Know the market you'll be buying in. Use a knowledgeable commercial realtor to find your new property. If you're like most business owners, you don't have time to go on endless drives shopping for a building. A competent commercial realtor can save you time plus you with comparable sales/ lease rates in the area, demographics, plans for growth and new development in the area.

4. Consider low down payment and longer-term loans -- this preserves your capital for better utilization, keeps your cash flow high, and allows you to redeploy the "capital savings" into other profit-generating business activities. Small business owners no longer have to put down 20 percent to 30 percent or accept fifteen-year terms with five-year fixed rates that balloon from ordinary lenders to get a "good deal." The commercial loans CapWest provides are a perfect antidote to those ordinary loans. The key point here is to actually do something with the "capital savings" you get from only putting a third to half as much equity down and getting up to 25-year terms.

5. Buy commercial real estate for the "right" reasons - if your likely exit strategy someday is not an IPO, but rather selling or simply closing your business, then it makes great sense to effectively "pay yourself rent" rather than some absentee landlord. As soon you have the capital for the down payment, you should consider turning that rental payment into a mortgage payment that will at least give you something for your effort - just like buying a home instead of renting an apartment. By doing this, you no longer will be throwing away your lease payment monthly, but building equity in an appreciable asset that also offers multiple tax advantages and income-sheltering opportunities not available with leasing.

6. Consider adding other furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) into your loan -- as long the FF&E costs are still a minority of your overall project costs and the FF&E have relatively long useful lives, you will get to amortize these on the much longer real estate terms (which will greatly improve your cash flow) at the same time that you depreciate these over shorter, allowable IRS schedules. This aspect, combined with your commercial property, gives you truly the highest cash-on-cash return for your total project costs when you employ 90% loan-to-cost Smart Choice Commercial Loan.

7. Consider buying/building more square footage than you need right now -- you can always grow into it, but this will also allow you to get some rental income until that time. In virtually all situations with our Smart Choice Commercial loans, you will have to occupy at least a simple majority within one year of buying the property.

8. Always establish a real estate holding company or what is known as an Eligible Passive Concern (EPC) to own your new property -- the formation of a master lease between an EPC and your operating company is how you'll tie the two together. If you later decide to sell your operating business, you can keep the real estate company (and by default, the real estate) from which you can continue cashing rent checks. It is in this way that owning your commercial property can become a great retirement asset for small business owners everywhere, all while "paying yourself" to do it.

9. Consider partnering with another business owner in your EPC if coming up with the down payment is tough - if you have a profitable business and your competent lender already pre-approved you for X dollars, this solution will allow you to gain the advantages of commercial property ownership even while you share the equity requirement and upside with another. Please understand that your new partner's operating business will also have to be examined to commit to your loan, and don't forget to always use good judgment when partnering with someone else. Make sure to clearly stipulate the buy-out provisions in your operating agreement or other documents ahead of time -- disagreements do occasionally occur, but corporate entity documents are usually better at resolving disputes than personal memories.

10. Only work with a commercial specialist - again, your time is precious so only deal with a lender that specializes in commercial loans. Involving residential mortgage brokers or banker in your transaction will only slow the process down and will probably cost you in expertise, loan terms, fees, time and pricing. Even paying a little extra to work with an expert upfront, is a great strategy that will save you money in the long term.

We are experts in doing commercial financing for owner occupied businesses!!