What this desk means by CRE
CRE here is investor-held commercial real estate: mixed-use, small commercial, and other business-purpose buildings that are not the borrower’s home. The file is underwritten off the property’s net operating income — not a W-2 and not a 1–4 unit rent roll treated as residential DSCR.
That is a different conversation than residential DSCR on dscr.broker or a short-term flip on fixandflip.broker. We broker the commercial file. We do not fund it. Nothing on this page is a commitment to lend.
How a CRE file is usually read
A commercial desk starts with NOI, then stacks it against annual debt service (NOI ÷ Annual Debt Service) and the loan amount (NOI ÷ Loan Amount). Cap rate (NOI ÷ price) and cash-on-cash sit next to those. LTV is a leverage cap, not the whole story.
Run the live worksheet on the CRE Loan & Deal Snapshot. Educational chips (DSCR ~1.20–1.35, DY ~8–10%, LTV ~60–75%) are labeled assumptions — not GI policy.
Who this is for
- Investors buying or refinancing mixed-use
- Small CRE: office, retail, light industrial, small commercial MF
- Investor-held commercial — business purpose only
Who this is not for: owner-occupied, primary residences, and consumer-purpose mortgages. If that is the file, this is the wrong desk.
Working definition
Commercial DSCR = NOI ÷ Annual Debt Service
The live calculator on /calculator uses this formula. It does not use rent ÷ PITIA.