Commercial mortgage guides
Every guide on the site: the products, the money, the process, and the situations that need a specialist.
The products
Owner-occupier vs commercial investment
Two different products with different lenders, LTVs and tests. Which one you are, and why it matters.
Read →Semi-commercial and mixed-use property
The flat above the shop: cheaper stamp duty, no BTL stress test, and the lenders who like it.
Read →The money
Commercial mortgage rates explained
Base rate plus margin, fixed vs variable, and why two businesses get quoted three points apart.
Read →Fees and costs
Arrangement, valuation, legal, broker, exit. What is normal, what is negotiable, and what to budget.
Read →Personal guarantees explained
Nearly every limited company loan has one. What it means, how to limit it, and when to push back.
Read →How much deposit do I need?
25% to 35% usually, why it varies, and the ways to make a smaller deposit work.
Read →VAT on commercial property
The 'option to tax', the 20% you may have to fund at completion, and how buyers deal with it.
Read →The process
The process, step by step
From first conversation to keys: what happens, who does it, and how long each part takes.
Read →Choosing a lender
High street, challenger or specialist: who fits which case, and why the cheapest isn't always the answer.
Read →Situations
Bad credit or thin accounts
Declined by the bank, a CCJ, one year's accounts, a new venture. What is still possible and at what price.
Read →Bridging first, mortgage after
Auctions, quick completions and properties that need work before a lender will touch them.
Read →Buying a business with its premises
Pubs, hotels, care homes, nurseries, shops: financing a going concern where the trade and the building come together.
Read →Buying through a SIPP or SSAS
Your pension buys the premises, your business pays it rent, and the mortgage sits inside the scheme.
Read →Limited company or personal name?
Trading company, SPV, partnership or your own name: how the borrower changes the lending and the tax.
Read →Your first commercial mortgage
Coming from renting, from residential buy-to-let, or from a new business: what changes and what lenders make of you.
Read →Remortgaging and raising capital
A better rate, the end of a fixed term, or money out of the building to grow the business.
Read →EPC rules for commercial property
The minimum energy standard for letting business premises, what is coming, and what it does to your mortgage.
Read →Ready to talk to someone who can actually arrange it?
Tell us about the property and the business, and a commercial finance adviser will come back with which lenders fit, what rate to expect and what they'll want to see. No fee for the conversation, no obligation.