I'm looking to refinance my commercial property. After meeting with around 7 banks, I found an offer from a non-bank conduit lender that sounds fair. The loan fits my criteria, but theres a catch. Looking for thoughts and advice.
So basically this guy isnt necessarily a lender himself, he's sort of a middle man who scouts out people in need of loans for commercial real estate lenders.

To keep it simple he have me three options from three different institutions. The one I like is a 10 year fixed term with 4.8% interest. The "catch" is, he said he cant legally give me the name of the institution until we sign. I really didn't know how to follow up, I dont know of this is normal, and I don't understand why i can't have the name of the institution I'm about to sign a 10 year term with.

I find this odd, because the other meetings I had with lenders, worked with banks that were happy to give their names out. I'm a bit worried because I had an issue with a lender who claimed that I owed him a lump sum of 60k after my mom died. Long story short he was a lying scum bag, my lawyer proved it, and I payed him 5,000 dollars to leave me alone. 

Is the reason he cant give the institution name out, because they have a had reputation and they dont want me to figure it out? It's a non bank conduit loan, so maybe the lender prefers to stay private? Anyone have any thoughts?


If you look through my history, it explains my naivety. My mom died seemingly broke and left me with a commercial property that by some miracle, started producing revenue for the first time right when she died. Looking through her records, she foreclosed at the perfect time and saved the property, and here I am.
[{"id": "exfqpf2", "text": "I would run, not walk from that deal. While it may be possible he has ndas in place that prevent him from giving names of his lenders, you should know who you are doing business with.\n\nWhat $ are we taking here, generally. \n\nCRE, especially if income producing, with strong leases in place, should be easy to finance anywhere.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "exfrtw7", "text": "It may be that he is a middle man and does not want you to go direct with the lender. That would be the simplest explanation. \n\nOr else it is Mexican drug cartel money and if you don't pay they will dissolve your body in acid. This is the most ridiculous answer. \n\nMake sure it is not one of these scams. \n\nhttps://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-confessions-of-judgment/", "replies": [{"id": "exg8rnl", "text": "Having someone sign something that guarantees they would not go direct seems simple enough.\n\nSo my vote is the bank of acid spa cartel", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "exfshol", "text": "what were the other 2 offers?  private lenders?  Institutions?\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nVery very odd...i would ask if they have and NDA you could sign, prior to any agreement so you can evaluate their financial position.  Also if you MUST go through with this offer, pay the fee for a competant lawyer to go through the documents before you sign...sounds like a sketchy operation.\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nin my experience, if it feels bad now,  its only going to get worse later.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "exfwghn", "text": "Where are you located? You should be able to find something out there with a bank below 4.8%. What\u2019s your other criteria?", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "exfxnrc", "text": "I am a conduit lender. It is possible that the broker does not want you to work with the lender directly as he only gets paid if you go through him. \n\nI will not worry about the knowing the name of the conduit lender that much personally because CMBS is a homogenious product. A conduit quote from Wells, Chase or a non bank lender like Ready Cap is all the same. Sometimes, there can be literally no different in pricing and structure between multiple conduit quotes. I would instead ask the broker if they worked with this conduit lender in the past and how trustworthy they are in terms of closing on the promised terms. Quoting a deal is easy but closing on the promised terms is hard. So, ask the broker if they can vouch for the conduit lender. Their relationship is more important than you knowing the name of the conduit lender. I will never retrade (change the terms in the middle of the transaction) on a  broker that is very close to me and sends me a lot of deals.If you want a second opinion on a conduit quote and if the loan amount is atleast $1.5MM, feel free to use me as a resource, happy to help.", "replies": [{"id": "exfzpwn", "text": "I'm a commercial mortgage broker and this checks out. My firm doesn't send term sheets with the lender's name until we have an exclusivity agreement signed protecting us. My guess is it's an inexperienced broker who took a shortcut to explain \"why\" he won't share it and made up the excuse that it's a \"legal\" issue.", "replies": [{"id": "exg3by7", "text": "Yeah, I have heard brokers send out matrixes that just compares conduit quote, lifeco quote, agency quote, bank quote etc. Thats all you need anyway. The names of the lender is not that crucial. Unlikley anybody is going to see a quote from JP Morgan and accept it or reject it because of the name. If a borrower has a personal relationship with any lender, they can give them to the broker upfront and the broker will \"carve out\" those lenders and not get quotes from those lenders.", "replies": [{"id": "exg9aj0", "text": "Exactly.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "exgj9x2", "text": "In which case, wouldn't OP still want to run, considering that this guy kinda doesn't seem like he knows what he's doing?", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "exg7w81", "text": "I am a conduit lender. It is possible that the broker does not want you to work with the lender directly as he only gets paid if you go through him.\n\nI will not worry about the knowing the name of the conduit lender that much personally because CMBS is a homogenious product. A conduit quote from Wells, Chase or a non bank lender like Ready Cap is all the same. Sometimes, there can be literally no different in pricing and structure between multiple conduit quotes. I would instead ask the broker if they worked with this conduit lender in the past and how trustworthy they are in terms of closing on the promised terms. Quoting a deal is easy but closing on the promised terms is hard, this is especially true for CMBS because we are at the mercy of rating agencies and B Buyers.  So, ask the broker if they can vouch for the conduit lender. Their relationship is more important than you knowing the name of the conduit lender. I will never retrade (change the terms in the middle of the transaction) on a broker that is very close to me and sends me a lot of deals.If you want a second opinion on a conduit quote and if the loan amount is atleast $1.5MM, feel free to use me as a resource, happy to help.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "exgi63m", "text": "Unless you have a very good reason for doing a CMBS loan, don\u2019t. CMBS lenders are uncompromising, difficult to deal with, and impose all kinds of clauses in their documents that will reduce your cash flow.  \n\nThe only reason to go with a CMBS loan is if it is 100% non recourse and you are able to take significant cash out.  Have you tried life companies? The proceeds will be less, but the rates will be similar and the loan terms are more flexible as these loans won\u2019t be securitized.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "exjnj1t", "text": "It should be on the commitment letter the name of the actual lender", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]