New to commercial real estate - looking for advice
Hello CRE community!

Long time lurker here. 

In the last year I have got my foot in the door of residential real estate - including a new construction SFH and a triplex. 

I have realized in this experience that I have the capital and leverage to likely do bigger projects while not having to be nickeled and dimed by various types of tenants. 

I did find a commercial property that I feel could be a good investment, however the first lender stated a loan would only be given with a lease in place. The current owner is the tenant and is planning on vacating upon sale. 

Is this a normal request from lenders? If so, how do I go about getting a tenant for a property I do not even have under contract to meet that obligation?

As a follow up to this, what is the best way to get my foot in the door of commercial real estate otherwise? I am open to really all types - multifamily, medical, general office, etc. 

Thanks in advance
[{"id": "igvq3xq", "text": "How many lenders have you talked to?\n\nYes, it is normal that a lender would want a lease in place.  \nIs the owner including the sale of the business with the real estate? Is the owner selling the business separately? Is the owner's business moving?", "replies": [{"id": "igwb7s6", "text": "I only talked to one lender so far - I have a meeting scheduled later this week with another. \n\nThe owner is not selling the business. They have other locations they will be focusing on mainly. Sounds like they don\u2019t really need the extra space that they\u2019re currently just using as some general office space and storage.", "replies": [{"id": "igxh0c7", "text": "You should talk to (at least) a dozen lenders to get an idea of what the requirements are going to be.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "igxctkk", "text": "The less risk for the lender the better rate you are able to get - so having a solid lease in place won't be NEEDED by a good deal of lenders - but you will be paying a much higher rate than if you had a solid tenant in place", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]