Keeping Your Real Estate Lender Happy: How to Increase Your Chances of Passing Those Periodic Property Inspections

If you have a commercial real estate loan, the loan documents probably give the lender the right to conduct periodic property inspections. And in today’s economy, lenders are taking a hard look at the collateral securing their loans. Loan documents often give lenders certain remedies if there are concerns about the property, such as allowing the lender to require or increase repair reserve payments, to increase financial reporting requirements, to require rents to be paid into a lockbox, to impose a default interest rate, and in certain cases even to call a default on the loan.So where should you spend your hard earned maintenance dollars? In 2008, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued a new commercial/multifamily real estate property inspection form for a variety of property types, such as Office, Retail, Multifamily, Healthcare, Lodging and Industrial. The inspection form has received industry-wide adoption by funding sources, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (although apparently not by the Federal Housing Administration). Property owners and management companies should review the inspection form and the reference guide to see how lenders will be evaluating their properties. The guide also provides a helpful overview of the inspection process, so you’ll know how to prepare for the inspection and what kinds of information the inspector will want from you.