What Are Commercial Loans For? – Many small business owners use commercial loans to finance their expensive business equipment. For example, a restaurant owner may finance their kitchen equipment or a dentist might need to finance the cost of their dental equipment.Who Finances Commercial Equipment? – There are many commercial lenders who specialize in financing different types of commercial equipment. Sorting through many different commercial lenders can be time consuming. Many people opt to work with a commercial loan broker instead of trying to find a lender directly. It can save quite a bit of time to work with a broker.Can I Save Money Finding The Lender Myself? – You might be able to save money but it’s likely that a broker who really knows the lenders and what types of loans are available will be able to better help you find a loan that works with what you need and will save you money. Although a broker charges a fee to complete the transaction, they may end up being able to help you save more money by getting you a better loan.What Are Typical Terms? – Most commercial lenders will want to offer shorter terms than other lenders who finance real estate. Instead of allowing the borrower to pay the loan off over the course of 30 years, the terms may be for 5-10 years.Will There Be a Balloon Payment Due? – Sometimes commercial lenders will require that there is a balloon payment due toward the end of the loan term. This will require that the borrower pay off the loan in full, either by using cash or refinancing the balloon portion into a new loan.What Are Commercial Bridge Loans? – Bridge loans are a type of short term financing or hard money loan. Bridge loans are typically easier to qualify for than other types of long term financing. With a bridge loan, the lender will be looking closely at the value of the equipment or property and will usually not want to finance more than 65% of the equipment or property’s value.Are There Pre-Payment Penalties – Some commercial lenders will charge a prepayment penalty on the loan. Prepayment penalties typically range from 1-5 years.Can I Get My Loan From a Credit Union? – Credit unions are now able to provide commercial loans with fewer restrictions. One of the stipulations that credit unions have is that they are not allowed to finance more than 80% of the value of the equipment or property.