A Holiday Message From Commercial Lending X

As 2024 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to thank you for trusting Commercial Lending X to help you navigate your financing needs.  We truly enjoy what we do, and we get great joy out of working with our clients, lenders, and referral partners.

This year we worked on an impressive 628 deals totaling close to $2.2 billion in financing, showcasing the strength and resilience of our partnerships. 

Despite the busy year, getting deals to close in 2024 was no easy task.  Challenges across the lending environment demanded creativity, persistence, and strong collaboration.  Yet, we are encouraged by signs of positive changes we see as we enter 2025:

• An uptick in real estate activity since the election, with 50% of recent deals focused on real estate transactions.  That percentage is well above the 20% or less we saw in most of 2024.

• A  growing sense of urgency and confidence among clients to finalize deals, signaling a more dynamic and promising market ahead.

• Lowering interest rates, with the Prime rate cut another 25 basis points yesterday, dropping it down to 7.50% from a high of 8.50% earlier this year, and anticipated future rate cuts in 2025.

• Lenders talking about loosening credit criteria and announcing new programs going into 2025, as well as recent big changes to the SBA 7A loan program that will help expand the availability of capital under the SBA loan programs in 2025.

Overall trends appear to be very positive, and we are excited for what 2025 will provide.  Although we are sure there will be challenges and unforeseen circumstances that could impact the markets, in general we see confidence from both customers and lenders and anticipate strong demand in 2025.

Highlights from Recent Transactions

Some of the more unique deals and programs we are most proud of this year include:

• SBA 7A loan for the acquisition of a growing manufacturing business with a complex arrangement including three seller notes with forgiveness in two of them, to meet a complex purchase transaction.

• SBA 504 Loan for an expanding restaurant / banquet facility which was a complex situation due to the project being based on projections and the type of project being very unique.

• SBA 7A loan to provide 100% financing to buy a building to be owner-occupied by a client’s business while also including the refinance of existing debt, all of which is required to make the cash flow work to finance the acquisition.

• SBA 7A loan for a business acquisition of a SaaS business with a complex business structure and a seller retaining equity in the company.

• Conventional Bank Loan refinance of an SBA 7A loan reducing a client’s interest rate by roughly 3.00% and helping them substantially improve cash flow.

• SBA 7A loan to fund the complex acquisition of a business with declining revenues in 2024, and despite the decline we were still able to get creative in structure and craft a transaction that worked to secure the required financing.

• Conventional Bank commercial mortgage loan for the financing to acquire several apartment buildings at extremely attractive interest rates well below market in the upper 5% range.

The above is just a small sample of some of our successes this past year.  Much of what we do at Commercial Lending X is being strategic in how we approach loans and in doing so finding creative solutions to help our clients not only secure the best financing available, but also be sure their transaction ultimately can get financed and closed.

Looking to 2025

While 2024 tested the limits of creativity in closing deals, the signs are clear that 2025 will bring smoother processes and fresh opportunities.  We are particularly excited about some of the recent changes to the SBA loan programs as well as the opportunity to move many clients from higher interest rate products to lower interest rate products as interest rates continue to decline.  We will continue to bring you updates on market changes and new lending programs as they come to market in 2025.  Your trust and collaboration have been invaluable.  Whether you are a borrower, accountant, realtor, attorney, lender, or referral source, we are here to guide you through the changing lending landscape in 2025 and help to make it your best year ever. 

We wish all of you and your families a very Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! 

From the Entire Team at Commercial Lending X

About Commercial Lending X

CLX is a small business that specializes in helping other business owners get the business loans and financing they need to be successful.  To learn more about CLX and the services we provide please check out our website at www.commerciallendingx.com.  You can also contact us directly at info@commerciallendingx.com or via phone at 888-975-0007.