Your Lender Says the Condo Is OK. But Is the Building Actually in Compliance?

Recently, I visited a 6-unit San Francisco condominium building while on Broker Tour. As I walked through the property, something caught my attention: the building had an exterior staircase and railing elevated more than six feet above the ground. Given the increased attention being paid to exterior elevated elements in California condominium buildings, I asked…

For many real estate investors, one of the biggest obstacles to selling an appreciated property isn’t finding a buyer. It’s the tax consequences of selling. An investor may have owned a rental house, apartment building, commercial property, or other investment real estate for years—or even decades. Commercial Real Estate Loans Archives – Steven Hook, San…

Lesson 2: Understanding Qualified Mortgages (QM) Why They Exist… and Why They Aren’t the Whole Mortgage Story In Lesson 1, we explored Non-Qualified Mortgages (Non-QM) and why many financially successful borrowers use financing that falls outside traditional mortgage guidelines. The natural follow-up question is: If there are Non-QM loans, what exactly is a Qualified Mortgage…

When Your Own Bank Becomes the Biggest Obstacle A Performing Loan… A Bank Merger… A Maturity Deadline… and a Bridge Loan That Saved the Deal Commercial real estate borrowers often assume that making every payment on time guarantees their bank will renew or extend their loan when it comes due. Unfortunately, commercial lending doesn’t always…

Lesson 1 of 12: What Is a Non-QM Loan? Welcome to Lesson 1 of the Beyond Conforming series. Throughout this 12-part educational guide, we’ll explore the mortgage programs that exist beyond traditional conforming financing and explain why many well-qualified borrowers use these strategies every day. This Beyond Conforming series is one section of my larger…

If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed that I write about a wide variety of financing topics. One week it might be VA loans. Another week it could be construction financing, condominium lending, bridge loans, owner-occupied commercial real estate, financing for medical professionals, or one of my Mission Impossible…

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear from business owners is that there’s only one type of commercial real estate loan. In reality, there isn’t. There are multiple financing strategies, each designed for different borrowers, different businesses, different property types, and different long-term goals. Over the years, I’ve helped physicians purchase medical offices, contractors acquire…

Some loan files stay with you because of the numbers. Others stay with you because of the people. This one was both. Over the years, five former Navy servicemen contacted me within a relatively short period of time looking for mortgage financing. Four had received honorable discharges. That meant they had earned something incredibly valuable—the…

One of the Best Home Loan Benefits in America—And One of the Most Misunderstood As a mortgage broker in San Francisco, I do not see VA loans every day the way lenders in more military-heavy markets might. But that has not stopped them from becoming some of my favorite loans. Why? Because when a VA…

Why Small Balance Commercial Loans Matter More Than Ever The commercial real estate lending landscape is undergoing one of its most significant transitions in decades. Nearly $875 billion in commercial real estate debt is expected to mature in 2026. Many of these loans originated when interest rates hovered near historic lows around 3%, while rental…