A commercial loan documents checklist saves more time than rate shopping. Underwriters stall on missing rent rolls, not on 25 basis points. This checklist covers bridge, value-add, and DSCR 5+ investor files at Jaken Finance Group.
Document order decides speed on investor commercial files more than a 10-basis-point argument. Jaken Finance Group prices qualified non-owner-occupied bridge at 8.99%–13.5% IO and DSCR at 5.75%–10.5%. Overview: commercial real estate financing. Upload: commercial loan request. (833) 264-7776.
Property package
| Document | Bridge acquisition | Stabilized DSCR 5+ |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase contract or payoff | Required | Required |
| Rent roll (executed leases) | If occupied | Required |
| T-12 or trailing P&L | If stabilized | Required |
| Pro forma (value-add) | Required with CapEx budget | Optional if heavy value-add |
| Photos / video | Recommended | Recommended |
| Scope of work | If rehab | If repositioning |
| Environmental | Phase I trigger review | Phase I on industrial/hospitality |
Asset-class add-ons: commercial property loans by asset class
Entity and sponsor package
- Articles of organization / incorporation
- Operating agreement (all members listed)
- EIN confirmation letter
- Certificate of good standing
- Liquidity statement — two recent months, all pages
- Track record summary (optional but speeds experienced-tier leverage)
LLC closing guide: commercial real estate loan for LLC
Exit documentation
Write the exit before you apply:
- DSCR refi — target LTV, rate band 5.75%–10.5%, seasoning assumptions
- Sale — comp support and timeline
- 1031 — QI letter and replacement vesting diagram
Compare commitment stages: term sheet vs LOI vs commitment
Worked example — Phoenix 6-unit file
Sponsor submitted:
- Contract at $740,000
- Rent roll: five occupied, one vacant at $975/door market
- Scope: $88,000 unit turns
- LLC docs + $165,000 liquidity
- Exit memo: DSCR at month 11
Missing item on first pass: EIN letter. Added in four hours — term sheet same day.
Common delays
- Unsigned operating agreement
- Rent roll without lease end dates
- Pro forma without vacancy and management line
- Scope without contractor bid or detailed line items
- Liquidity screenshots instead of full statements
Submit complete packages at commercial loan request · (833) 264-7776
EIN letters title companies will actually accept
The borrowing LLC needs an Employer Identification Number that matches the name on articles and on title. Apply through the IRS EIN online application. Upload the CP 575 or IRS confirmation letter, not a screenshot of the EIN application screen.
Mismatches we see every week: DBA on the letter and legal name on the deed; EIN issued to a member personally; confirmation dated after the term sheet. Fix the letter before you ask for a close date. Vesting walkthrough: commercial real estate loan for LLC and investment property loans for LLC.
Underground tanks and other environmental paper
Older commercial sites — former fueling, dry cleaners, auto repair — can trigger tank and contamination review. The EPA maintains underground storage tank resources that explain why a Phase I mention of USTs is not a footnote. If the report flags a tank, plan extra days and possibly a Phase II. Do not hide it in a photo dump.
Industrial, hospitality, and mixed-use with a commercial bay get environmental questions earlier than a garden apartment. See commercial property loans by asset class for which property types usually need more third-party paper.
Rent-roll fields that feed NOI, not decoration
A usable rent roll lists unit or suite, tenant name, lease start, lease end, current rent, concessions, and deposits. Month-to-month should be marked. Vacant units need a market rent and a fill plan. Trailing twelve-month operating statements should match the roll within a explainable variance.
Blended “total rent” on mixed-use is not a rent roll. Split residential and commercial. Short remaining term on a large commercial tenant is a credit event, not a formatting choice.
How to name files so review starts the same day
Create five folders or five PDFs: property, entity, liquidity, contract or payoff, exit. Put the street address in every filename. Do not password-protect unless you send the password in a separate message. Do not upload bank screenshots that omit page 2 of 4.
Submit the set at commercial loan request. Initial review often returns in 24–48 hours when those five packets exist. The loan process page shows what happens after the first pass.
Third-party reports you should not order early
Do not pay for a commercial appraisal until the term sheet names the report type. A residential 1007 on a 12-unit is the wrong product and a wasted week. Environmental and survey can wait until the term sheet lists them as conditions — unless you already know the site is a former tank farm.
Insurance quotes should use the exact address and the borrowing entity as named insured. Flood, wind, and wildfire lines change leverage. A quote from the building next door is not a quote.
Liquidity statements vs net-worth summaries
Underwriters count seasoned cash and brokerage that can fund the equity gap and several months of interest-only. A personal financial statement that lists home equity and a 401(k) without withdrawal proof does not replace two months of full statements.
Retirement accounts can count on some files when you show the withdrawal path and tax cost. Cryptocurrency and pending 1031 proceeds need extra paper. If exchange funds are the down payment, include qualified-intermediary instructions with the liquidity packet.
Scope-of-work documents on value-add
Bridge files with unit turns or roof work need a line-item scope, not “rehab as needed.” Contractor bids or unit-by-unit budgets beat a single lump sum. Draw schedules should match the scope. Lien-waiver language belongs in the contractor agreement before the first draw, not after a mechanic files.
Stabilized DSCR files can skip heavy scope paper. Vacant or gut rehab files cannot. If you are between those poles, say so and attach both in-place T-12 and the post-work pro forma.
Worked document miss — Columbus mixed-use
A sponsor sent a clean contract on a $1.15M retail-over-residential building and a one-line “rent $9,400.” Missing: commercial lease abstracts, residential roll with end dates, EIN letter, and page 3 of the operating account. The desk paused. They rebuilt the packet in a day — split tabs, IRS letter, full statements, exit to DSCR in month 11. Term sheet followed the same afternoon at 67% LTC, 10.625% IO.
The lesson is not “send more PDFs.” Send the right PDFs once. Bridge loans for real estate investors still close in 7–14 business days when the packet matches the product. Five-to-ten unit holds should also skim multifamily 5–10 unit DSCR so the income exhibits match the permanent exit.
Call (833) 264-7776 if you are unsure whether a Phase I or a commercial appraisal belongs in the first upload. Bring the address and asset type. We would rather tell you to wait than have you order the wrong report.
Good standing, foreign registration, and secretary-of-state printouts
If the LLC was formed in Delaware or Wyoming and the property is in Texas, title will ask for foreign qualification and a current good-standing certificate in the property state. Order those printouts before the term sheet, not the morning of funding. Expired good standing is a one-day fix that still burns a lock period.
Manager-managed operating agreements need a signature block that matches who will sign loan documents. If the manager is another LLC, upload that entity’s articles too. Stacked entities without paper are a stall, not a sophistication signal.
Purchase-contract exhibits reviewers actually open
The first pages of the PSA matter. So do exhibits that list personal property, existing loans, tenant estoppels, and seller representations about violations. A contract that is “as-is” with open building-code cases should include the case numbers. Do not bury municipal letters in a 90-page scan without a cover note.
Assignment contracts and wholesaler paper need a clear chain to the seller. If you are the assignee, show the assignment and the seller’s consent if required. Loan process assumes the buyer on the term sheet can take title.
Credit-event memos and background disclosures
A one-page memo beats a surprise on the credit report. Date of the event, resolution, and whether any property in the portfolio is currently late. Attach the discharge or release if you have it. Investor programs can still work after a credit event when the asset and exit are strong — start that conversation on Second Look, not after the pull.
What to collect for the appraiser without over-ordering
When the term sheet names a commercial income appraisal, have ready: rent roll, T-12, unit mix, capex list, and a contact for access. The appraiser should not hunt for keys in a text thread. For 5–10 unit exits, the income package should look like the exhibits on multifamily 5–10 unit DSCR loans, not a single-family comparable grid.
Survey, ALTA items, and municipal lien searches often sit with title. You still need to answer emails the same day. Silence on a survey exception is how a 10-day file becomes a 20-day file.
Organizing seller-provided “data rooms”
Sellers send Dropbox links with years of junk. Pull what underwriting needs into your five-packet structure. Do not forward the entire room and hope. If the T-12 is a photo of a printed P&L, retype it into a spreadsheet and keep the photo as backup.
HOA or condo docs on mixed residential buildings belong in the property packet when assessments or rental caps affect NOI. Storage, MHP, and RV files need pad or unit-count charts — use commercial property loans by asset class so you do not send an apartment rent roll for pads.
Rates on the qualified file still fall in bridge 8.99%–13.5% IO and DSCR 5.75%–10.5%. The documents do not change those bands. They decide whether you get a sheet at all. Apply at commercial loan request once the packets are named and complete.
Payoff letters, taxes, and municipal searches
Refinance files need a current payoff with per-diem, not last month’s statement. Delinquent property taxes and water bills show up on title and should be in the property packet if you already know about them. Open code cases belong next to the photos, not in a later “oh by the way.”
For inherited or probate title, add the court documents that show who can convey. That is still a document problem first. See commercial real estate financing for product fit after the chain of title is readable.
If a prior lender already collected a data room, do not forward it raw. Re-label the five packets and drop the expired payoff. Second Look still needs a current file, not last quarter’s zip.
How to label the upload so underwriting actually opens it
Name files by address and exhibit: 123-Main-rent-roll.pdf, not scan4.pdf. One zip with twenty unlabeled photos costs more time than a missing page. Put the operating agreement, EIN letter from the IRS EIN application, and two months of bank statements in the same folder as the rent roll.
If the asset has underground tanks or a former dry cleaner, flag environmental early — the EPA underground storage tank program is why Phase I exists, not because a lender likes extra PDFs. Product home: commercial real estate financing. Packet upload: commercial loan request.
Rates, terms and conditions offered only to qualified borrowers and are subject to change at any time without notice. Closing times are in business days and commence upon receipt of appraisal payment and satisfaction of borrower conditions. All loans are subject to full underwriting for loan approvals. Jaken Finance Group only finances non-owner occupied investment properties.