How Lenders Underwrite Commercial Real Estate

In commercial real estate, deals don’t fail because of pricing or paperwork — they fail because the risk isn’t financeable. In this episode of The Alkaline Reaction, Spencer Correnti breaks down how lenders actually underwrite commercial real estate deals. From sponsor strength and property durability to leverage, reserves, guarantees, and exit metrics, we walk through the exact framework most institutional lenders use to decide whether a deal gets approved — or dies quietly in credit committee. You’ll learn: • Why lenders underwrite 1) sponsor, 2) property, and 3) debt terms as a single risk equation • How experience, liquidity, and communication shape sponsor credit • What lenders really look for in stabilized, transitional, and development deals • Why leverage, reserves, and covenants matter more than interest rate • The exit metrics that decide most loan approvals Lenders don’t finance upside. They finance risk. And the best sponsors know how to present a deal like a credit.