Mike’s Professional Experience
After a 10 year career in sales, Mike spent 7 years achieving his Certified General Accountant’s designation and built his own public accounting and tax practice. Following his public practice career, Mike became the chief financial officer for continent wide trucking operation, during which time he oversaw the construction of a large trucking warehouse and secured the mortgages for both the construction phase and the final take out mortgage. Thirteen years ago, Mike relocated to Courtenay on Vancouver Island, where he began his commercial real estate and commercial mortgage careers, which he still pursues today.
Why use an experienced commercial mortgage broker?
First and foremost, a good professional mortgage broker knows each of his specific lender’s loan preferences. This enables the broker to focus on a few select commercial lenders in BC that have an appetite for your specific type of loan. This avoids the “Shotgun Approach”, whereby commercial loan requests are fired off to multiple lenders, in the hopes that the more mud that is thrown against the wall, the more that will stick. The real harm from this approach is that lenders do not like loan applications that have been shopped all over town, and usually view these files disdainfully. Let’s be honest, as there are currently so many loan applications and so few lenders, the lending officers are very selective. Every advantage you can get counts toward a timely mortgage approval.
Secondly, commercial mortgage lenders have said that if they can’t understand the basics of a mortgage application in less than 15 minutes, they deem it either poorly organized and presented or too complicated. In either case, they discard this file and pick up the next one. As a CPA/CGA, I talk their language, I know how to establish the basic highlights and potential problems with your application. I present the facts to a lender in a clear, concise manner. This technique alone greatly increases our chances of obtaining a commercial mortgage lender’s approval.
Finally, always remember it is the lending institution that pays the lending officer’s pay cheque. Thus, when push comes to shove, the commercial lending officer will ultimately favor his employer in any lending negotiations. In contrast, as you are my client, I owe an undivided fiduciary duty and loyalty to you. This fact will be of great importance to you as I negotiate the mortgage interest rates and terms on your behalf.
When you think about it, your time is very valuable and you are not a commercial mortgages specialist. Since you wouldn’t use an amateur to a job worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, you can either spend years learning how to be a commercial mortgage specialist or hire someone who already has the experience. Many companies and investors are now making their commercial mortgage broker a valuable, long-term member of their commercial investment property team, along with their lawyers and accountants.
Hiring a professional commercial mortgage broker frees you up to do what you do best, grow your business.
