Commercial Office Loans

Office financing spans two distinct lending paths: investment office (you buy and lease to others) and owner-user office (your business owns and occupies the space). We originate both, across traditional office, medical office, and flex/office-warehouse buildings nationwide.

Office is a specialized asset class post-2020. Lenders look closely at tenant quality, lease terms, remote-work exposure, and submarket vacancy. Medical office in particular has become one of the strongest-performing commercial asset classes.

Check Office Loan Eligibility Talk to an Office Specialist — (833) 350-9185

Two Paths: Investment vs Owner-User

Investment Office (Landlord)

You own the building and lease to tenants. Classic commercial underwriting based on NOI.

Feature	Typical Range
Loan amounts	$500K – $7.5M+
LTV	60–70%
DSCR minimum	1.25–1.35
Amortization	25 years
Term	5, 7, 10-year balloon
Min occupancy	85% with weighted average lease term 3+ years

Owner-User Office (SBA or Conventional)

Your business owns the building and operates from it. Very different program — often SBA 504 or SBA 7(a) with 85–90% LTV.

Feature	Typical Range
Loan amounts	Up to $5M (SBA 504)
LTV	Up to 90% (SBA 504 structure)
Amortization	20–25 years
Term	Up to 25 years fixed
Occupancy rule	Must occupy 51%+ within 12 months

Owner-user is often the better path for medical practices, law firms, CPAs, and professional services that otherwise lease. The math frequently favors owning over leasing once the business has 3+ years of stable revenue.

Medical Office Is a Separate Game

Medical office buildings (MOBs) trade at tighter cap rates than general office — sometimes 75–100 basis points tighter — because of:

Sticky tenants (medical practices don’t easily relocate due to equipment, patient relationships, permits)
Non-discretionary demand (patients come regardless of economic conditions)
Recession resilience proven across multiple cycles
Growing demographic tailwinds (aging population)

Lenders price MOB financing more aggressively than general office. If your deal is medical office with long-lease credit tenants, flag it early — the pricing sheet is different.

Who Buys Office

Investors acquiring multi-tenant office in stabilized markets
Medical practices buying their own office building (owner-user)
Professional service firms moving from leasing to owning
1031 exchange buyers diversifying out of multi-family
Institutional buyers acquiring medical office portfolios
Opportunistic investors buying distressed office at reset basis

Sample Scenario: Medical Office Investment

3-Tenant Medical Office, Charlotte NC

Property: 12,500 SF single-story medical office, built 2005, 95% occupied
Purchase price: $4,200,000
Down payment: $1,260,000 (30%)
Loan amount: $2,940,000
Tenants: Primary care (5,000 SF, 8-year lease), imaging (4,500 SF, 10-year lease), physical therapy (2,500 SF, 5-year lease)
Gross rents: $31,250/month NNN
Operating expenses: landlord pass-through minimal on NNN; budget $2,500/mo landlord reserves
NOI: approximately $345,000/yr
Debt service (6.25%, 25-yr): $232,000/yr
DSCR: $345,000 ÷ $232,000 = 1.49
Result: Approved. Strong medical tenancy, long lease terms, credit-stable cash flow.

Current Office Underwriting Climate

Lenders are cautious on general office post-2020. Expect:

Lower LTV than multi-family or industrial (typically 60–65% vs 70–75%)
Higher DSCR requirement (1.30–1.40 vs 1.20–1.25 elsewhere)
Stricter tenant quality review — national credit tenants and long WALT (weighted average lease term) help; month-to-month hurts
Submarket vacancy scrutiny — CBDs with 20%+ vacancy may get declined even with stabilized property
Tenant improvement (TI) reserves often required at closing

Medical office gets significantly better treatment than general office. Suburban office outperforms CBD office in most markets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Only through SBA 504 on owner-user deals (your business will occupy 51%+ of the building). Pure investment office typically caps at 65–70% LTV in the current market.

SBA 504 uses a first mortgage (50% LTV from a conventional lender) + CDC second (40% LTV SBA-backed at below-market rate) + borrower down (10%). The blended structure effectively gives you 90% LTV on owner-occupied commercial real estate, with 20–25 year fixed rates on the SBA portion.

Medical office gets priced tighter than general office because tenant quality is stronger and lease terms are longer. Lenders often allow higher LTV on medical office and accept lower DSCR minimums than they would on equivalent general office.

Yes, typically through a bridge loan structure. We’ll underwrite to stabilized pro-forma value with a value-add business plan. Rates are higher and terms shorter than stabilized office financing — usually 12–36 month bridge with interest-only payments, then refinance into permanent debt once stabilized.

Credit tenants (investment-grade corporate, government, large healthcare systems) on multi-year leases are the strongest. Professional services (law, accounting, financial advisors) are second tier. Weakest: coworking, creative single-tenant that might relocate, or tenants outside their covenant.

Commercial Loans Hub — Full overview
Mixed-Use — Office combined with residential
Retail — Pure retail properties
Industrial — Warehouse and flex

Check Office Loan Eligibility Talk to an Office Specialist — (833) 350-9185

1st Nationwide Mortgage, NMLS 1281. Commercial office loans subject to property, tenant, and sponsor underwriting. Medical office, general office, and owner-user programs have different requirements. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.

Commercial Office Loans | Office Building & Medical Office Financing