If your value proposition is “I find good rates,” 2026 is going to be uncomfortable. Residential lending rewards speed and volume.
Commercial lending rewards judgment and structure. One burns brokers out. The other compounds experience. The brokers who win next year won’t be louder — they’ll be smarter.

Most residential brokers don’t realize they’re already sitting on untapped commercial opportunities — those clients with rental properties or small business holdings are your gateway into higher-value deals. In this post, I break down a real commercial financing scenario — a $3.5M retail strip mall — and show how to underwrite, package, and present it like a pro. You’ll see what lenders look for, how to handle red flags, and what separates strong brokers from those who freeze when a commercial lead lands in their inbox. If you’ve ever wanted to understand how real commercial deals get financed — this is your blueprint.

Stop relying on luck. Learn how to build a repeatable sales and marketing system to attract and close commercial deals consistently.

Most brokers don’t realize they’re already sitting on untapped commercial deals. That client who owns a duplex, the one asking about refinancing their mixed-use property — those are hidden opportunities. In this post, I’ll show you the signals to watch for so you can stop leaving commission on the table.

Commercial finance looks exciting from the outside: bigger deals, bigger commissions, and the chance to level up from residential. But the reality? Most brokers who jump into this space without preparation end up frustrated, burned out, or stuck chasing deals they’ll never close.

Most residential brokers underestimate how different commercial deals are until they get knee-deep in one. Unlike residential, commercial financing is not just about a property and a credit score—it’s about businesses, cash flow, risk mitigation, and negotiations that can make or break a deal.

If you’ve been working in residential mortgages, you already know how to guide clients through home financing. But once you step into commercial financing, the rules change.

You’re at the top of your game. You can structure a residential file in your sleep, and you’ve built a loyal client base that trusts you implicitly.

One of the biggest myths about breaking into commercial finance is that you need a massive marketing budget, a brand new logo, and an expensive advertising campaign to find leads.

As an experienced residential mortgage broker, you live and breathe GDS/TDS, FICO scores, and credit bureau analysis. You can glance at a client's application and know instinctively if it fits a lender's box. These metrics are the bedrock of your world.