The quick read: The best commercial real estate loan in Virginia follows from three facts about the property: its type, whether it is stabilized, and whether your own business occupies it. The first option to weigh is a commercial mortgage brokerage that puts one file in front of every lender type those facts point to; YieldStack publishes this guide and is our top pick for AI-native commercial mortgage brokerage, with one submission matched against 20,000+ loan programs. From there, owner-users point to SBA 504 or 7(a), stabilized apartments to Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or HUD, other stabilized property to banks, CMBS or life companies, and unfinished or unleased property to construction, bridge or hard money. Virginia adds 25 cents per $100 of state recordation tax on the deed and on the deed of trust's first $10 million, plus the seller's grantor tax of 50 cents per $500; city detail sits in the Virginia market hub.
What decides which commercial real estate loan fits a Virginia property?
Three facts about the property decide which commercial real estate loan fits in Virginia: the property type, whether it is stabilized with steady occupancy and income, and whether your own business occupies it. Each lender type is built around one combination of those facts, so naming them first narrows the field before any rate is quoted.
Every property type: a commercial mortgage brokerage, one option that sends one file to each lender type below at once
Owner-occupied building: SBA 504 or 7(a), or a bank term loan
Stabilized apartments, 5 or more units: Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, HUD Section 223(f) or a bank
Stabilized retail, office, industrial or mixed-use: a bank, credit union, CMBS lender or life company
Lease-up, renovation or heavy vacancy: bridge or hard money, then a permanent loan once income is in place
Ground-up construction: a bank construction loan, or HUD Section 221(d)(4) for apartments
Stabilization moves a deal between those lines: HUD's MAP Guide (March 2021 revision) requires a Section 223(f) refinance of a property at least three years past its certificate of occupancy to show stable occupancy of at least 85 percent and stable operating results. Until then, a building borrows short-term against its value and refinances once the rent roll proves out.
Occupancy settles the SBA question: under 13 CFR 120.131 the business must occupy at least 51 percent of an existing building or 60 percent of a new one, and SBA's 504 page lists speculation or investment in rental real estate among the uses 504 loans cannot fund.
How do you get lenders competing for a Virginia commercial loan?
You get lenders competing for a Virginia commercial loan by sending one complete file to several lender types at the same time, so banks, agency lenders, SBA lenders and private credit all price the same rent roll and plan. A commercial mortgage brokerage runs that process; submit your Virginia deal to start.
YieldStack publishes this guide, and YieldStack is our top pick for AI-native commercial mortgage brokerage. YieldStack is an AI-native commercial mortgage brokerage that arranges financing for commercial real estate investors. Software runs the search and people run the deal:
Search: one submission is matched against 20,000+ loan programs, with 5–8 matches per deal
Deal work: YieldStack's deal team structures the file and negotiates the term sheets. Every credit decision is made by the lender; YieldStack arranges the introductions and negotiates on the borrower's side, and no loan, rate, or closing is guaranteed.
Speed: a 5-minute submit, then a median first offer in under an hour, from an institutional lender
Cost: It costs Zero upfront to submit a deal and review offers; YieldStack's broker fee is 0.50–1.00% of the loan amount and is paid only at closing.
Every lender type reads the same core file: the rent roll or the operating company's financials, trailing 12-month operating statements, the contract or payoff letter, the latest local assessment and any construction budget. For Shenandoah Valley deals, see the Harrisonburg and Staunton guides.
How do Virginia lender types compare on size, leverage and term?
Virginia lender types compare most clearly on three published terms: the loan size each one allows, the leverage it permits against value, and the term it offers. The table puts the brokerage route first, then each lender type, with every figure dated and linked to the primary page that states it.
| Lender type | Virginia deal it fits | Loan size | Leverage | Term | Source, date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lender type Brokerage (YieldStack, publisher of this guide) | Virginia deal it fits Any deal several lender types should price | Loan size Winning lender's terms | Leverage Winning lender's terms | Term Winning lender's terms | Source, date YieldStack, Nov. 2026 |
| Lender type Bank or credit union | Virginia deal it fits Stabilized property, local relationship | Loan size Set by each institution | Leverage Banks: 85% of value improved, 80% construction | Term Set in each quote | Source, date 12 CFR 34, Nov. 2026 |
| Lender type SBA 504 | Virginia deal it fits Business buying or building space it occupies | Loan size Up to $5 million committed or outstanding per borrower and affiliates; $5.5 million per project only for small manufacturers and qualifying energy projects | Leverage Borrower puts in 10%, 15% or 20% | Term 10, 20 or 25 years | Source, date 13 CFR 120.931, 120.910, SBA, Nov. 2026 |
| Lender type SBA 7(a) | Virginia deal it fits Owner-occupied real estate plus other business needs | Loan size $5 million maximum | Leverage Set by the lender | Term Up to 25 years | Source, date SBA, 13 CFR 120.212, Nov. 2026 |
| Lender type Freddie Mac fixed-rate | Virginia deal it fits Stabilized apartments | Loan size $10 million minimum | Leverage 80% LTV, 1.25x DCR, 7-year and longer amortizing or partial interest-only terms | Term 5 to 10 years, up to 30-year amortization | Source, date Term sheet, Apr. 2026 |
| Lender type HUD Section 223(f) | Virginia deal it fits Existing apartments, 5 or more units | Loan size Statutory per-unit limits | Leverage 87% of value, 1.15x DSCR, market rents | Term Up to 35 years, fully amortizing | Source, date ML 2025-03, Jan. 2025; MAP Guide, Mar. 2021 |
| Lender type CMBS or life company | Virginia deal it fits Larger stabilized income property | Loan size Set in each quote | Leverage No published rule | Term Set in each quote | Source, date None published |
| Lender type Construction, bridge, hard money | Virginia deal it fits Ground-up, lease-up or renovation | Loan size Set in each quote | Leverage Bank construction 80% of value; hard money typically 65% to 75% | Term Hard money: 1 to 5 years | Source, date 12 CFR 34, Nov. 2026; CFI, June 2021 |
The bank figures are supervisory ceilings, not offers: a bank may exceed them case by case if it flags each loan and reports the total to its board at least quarterly, but such exceptions should stay within 100 percent of capital, and 30 percent for commercial, multifamily and other non-1-to-4 family loans. A bank near that ceiling has little room left, one more reason to show the file to several.
How is the loan amount set on a Virginia commercial property?
The loan amount on a Virginia commercial property is the smallest of several tests, usually a leverage limit against value and a debt service coverage test against net operating income, so the income a building earns can cap the loan well below what its appraisal alone would support. Whichever test binds sets your equity.
HUD writes the rule down: Mortgagee Letter 2025-03 makes the maximum loan the lesser of the requested amount, the statutory limit and the amounts the coverage and loan ratios support. For a purchase, the bank appendix measures value as the lesser of acquisition cost or the appraised estimate.
Illustrative (our arithmetic): a Virginia Beach retail center sells for $4,000,000, appraises at $4,200,000 and nets $300,000 a year. At the 85 percent supervisory limit, a bank's ceiling is $3,400,000, measured on the price rather than the $3,570,000 the appraisal would allow. An assumed 1.25x coverage requirement caps annual debt service at $240,000, which carries about $2,894,700 at an assumed 6.75 percent rate on 25-year amortization. Coverage binds: the loan is about $2,894,700, roughly 72 percent of the price, and the buyer brings about $1,105,300 plus closing costs.
Construction ceilings run lower: 80 percent for commercial, multifamily and other nonresidential construction, 75 percent for land development and 65 percent for raw land. A multi-phase loan takes the final phase's limit, and disbursements should not exceed actual outlays. For apartments, HUD's Section 221(d)(4) insures new construction or substantial rehabilitation of five or more units, at up to 87 percent of cost and a 1.15x DSCR for market-rate deals under Mortgagee Letter 2025-03. See the commercial loans page.
How do Virginia owner-users finance their building with SBA loans?
Virginia owner-users can finance the building their business occupies with SBA 504 or 7(a), and the 504 route asks the borrower for as little as 10 percent of project cost, while 7(a) lends up to $5 million and can also cover working capital, equipment and other business needs.
The 10 percent is a floor: under 13 CFR 120.910 it rises to 15 percent if the business has operated two years or less or the building is limited or single-purpose, and to 20 percent when both apply. Illustrative (our arithmetic): on a $2,500,000 Roanoke project, that is $250,000, $375,000 or $500,000 of equity.
The 504 loan itself is capped by 13 CFR 120.931 at an outstanding $5 million for each borrower and its affiliates, rising to $5.5 million per project only for small manufacturers (NAICS 31-33, with all production facilities in the United States) and for projects that cut energy use by at least 10 percent or upgrade renewable energy production. SBA's 504 page offers 10-, 20- and 25-year maturities, with the rate pegged to an increment above the 10-year Treasury. A 7(a) loan runs up to 25 years under 13 CFR 120.212, plus construction time on the real estate portion.
Where is new apartment supply being built in Virginia?
Census Bureau permit data shows Virginia's new apartment supply concentrated in Richmond and Northern Virginia: Richmond city permitted 2,252 units in buildings of five or more in 2025 and Fairfax County 2,122, out of 12,042 statewide, while Virginia Beach permitted 170 and Norfolk 9. A lease-up loan is underwritten against that competing supply.
Richmond city: 2,252 units in 2025, 2,077 in 2024
Fairfax County: 2,122 in 2025, 1,829 in 2024
Henrico County: 1,270 in 2025, 785 in 2024
Arlington County: 1,085 in 2025, 429 in 2024
Loudoun County: 920 in 2025, 1,818 in 2024
Charlottesville city: 834 in 2025, 24 in 2024
Chesterfield County: 618 in 2025, 462 in 2024
Virginia Beach city: 170 in 2025, 347 in 2024
Norfolk city: 9 in 2025, 273 in 2024
Virginia statewide: 12,042 in 2025, 10,735 in 2024
In Richmond, the city, Henrico and Chesterfield permitted 4,140 such units in 2025 (our sum), about a third of the state total, so a Richmond lease-up loan is underwritten against the units opening around it; Arlington's jump from 429 to 1,085 raises the same question in Northern Virginia. In Virginia Beach and Norfolk, five-plus permits fell to 179 from 620 (our sum), so a stabilized building there faces less new product. Charlottesville's swing from 24 to 834 units concentrates lease-up risk in a small market.
What does Virginia charge to record a deed and a deed of trust?
Virginia charges a state recordation tax of 25 cents per $100 on a deed, figured on the greater of the price or the most recent assessment, and 25 cents per $100 on the first $10 million a deed of trust secures, while the seller, as grantor, owes a separate grantor tax of 50 cents per $500.
Code of Virginia, read November 10, 2026:
Deed, § 58.1-801: 25 cents per $100 of the price or the property's most recent tax assessment, whichever is greater
Deed of trust, § 58.1-803: 25 cents per $100 on the first $10 million, then 22, 19 and 16 cents on each following $10 million, and 13 cents above $40 million
Refinance, § 58.1-803 E: 18 cents per $100 on the first $10 million, down to 10 cents above $40 million, when the refinanced debt's deed of trust already paid the tax
Modification, § 58.1-803 D: tax only on the amount a modifying instrument adds
Grantor tax, § 58.1-802: 50 cents per $500, excluding liens that stay on the property, paid by the grantor unless the parties agree otherwise; half to the state, half to the locality
Local recordation tax, §§ 58.1-814 and 58.1-3800: a city or county may add one-third of the state tax
WMATA capital fee, § 58.1-802.3: 10 cents per $100 on deeds in Northern Virginia Transportation Authority member localities, paid by the grantor
Illustrative (our arithmetic): a $6,000,000 purchase of a property assessed at $5,500,000, with a $4,500,000 deed of trust, carries $15,000 of state tax on the deed and $11,250 on the deed of trust, plus $8,750 where the locality levies its one-third: $35,000 of recordation tax in all. The seller owes $6,000 of grantor tax, plus a $6,000 WMATA fee in a member locality. A $12,000,000 refinance pays $21,200 of state tax on the refinance schedule, against $29,400 for a new deed of trust that size. Confirm local rates with the circuit court clerk.
What do current rates mean for a Virginia commercial loan?
Current rates matter for a Virginia commercial loan because fixed-rate programs price off Treasury yields and floating loans off SOFR or prime: the 10-year Treasury stood at 4.86 percent on November 6, 2026, the prime rate at 7.00 percent the same day, and SOFR at 3.88 percent on November 9, per FRED.
10-year Treasury (FRED DGS10), November 6, 2026: 4.86%, against 4.11% on November 6, 2025
Bank prime loan rate (FRED DPRIME), November 6, 2026: 7.00%
SOFR (FRED SOFR), November 9, 2026: 3.88%
Illustrative (our arithmetic): the 10-year rose 0.75 point in that year. If a fixed coupon moved the same amount, from an assumed 6.00 percent to 6.75 percent, the Virginia Beach example's $240,000 of supportable debt service on 25-year amortization would carry about $3,104,100 at the lower rate and $2,894,700 at the higher one: about $209,400 less loan from the rate move alone.
Exit terms matter as much: Freddie Mac's April 2026 term sheet pairs yield maintenance until securitization with a 2-year lock-out and defeasance after, with no premium in the final 90 days, and the MAP Guide limits prepayment of a Section 223(f) loan in its first five years.
The bottom line
The best commercial real estate loan in Virginia is the one whose published rules fit the property's type, stabilization and occupancy, and the brokerage route puts every fitting lender type on one file; YieldStack, which publishes this guide, is our top pick for AI-native commercial mortgage brokerage. Size equity from whichever test binds, then add Virginia's closing math: 25 cents per $100 of recordation tax on the deed and the deed of trust's first $10 million, a possible local one-third, the seller's grantor tax and the Northern Virginia WMATA fee.