A Picture is Worth $1,000,000 … or more

So let's talk about pictures and commercial loans. One of the key items overlooked in most commercial financing requests is pictures. You would think this would be obvious but I think 70% of the initial requests that we receive come without any kind of visual reference. Kind of astounding, isn't it?

Think about this from the underwriter's standpoint. Most files are sent outside of the market in which they are located. This means that the underwriter is sitting in an office 300 miles away from the property and knows nothing about it or the market where it is located. They want to know what their collateral looks like, what the properties around it look like, the condition of the lot, and what the street it is sitting on looks like. Let's also throw in what it looks like from above and a few location maps.

Your job it to help get your files approved. One of that fastest ways to do that is to give your lenders a good visual perspective of the collateral. So here is a quick list of the pictures that you should include with your submissions to give your request a major boost with your lenders:
- Front, sides, and rear.
- Lots, yards, and out-buildings.
- Street scenes up and down.
- Nearby properties.
- Interiors: Lobby, rooms, hallways, shops, etc.
- Satellite or aerial
- Maps: Local and regional.

So dust off the digital camera and start taking pictures. It could be worth $1,000,000 to you!

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