Market
Commercial real estate financing in Houston
Houston commercial financing is decided by three things: the property type, the business plan, and the size of the loan. Small multifamily, 2-4 unit and single-family rental portfolios, land and light industrial each draw a different lender set, and the lenders who compete hardest at $400,000 are usually not the ones who compete at $3 million. Getting the distribution right matters more than negotiating any single quote.
- 5,000+loan programs screened
- 5–8matches on a typical deal
- $0 upfrontto submit and compare offers
- 0.50–1.00%broker fee, paid only at closing
What kinds of Houston deals get financed?
The recurring Houston shapes are acquisitions of small multifamily and 2-4 unit property, cash-out refinances against appreciated rental assets, ground-up and heavy-renovation construction, and land. Each has its own lender population. A construction facility is underwritten to a budget and a draw schedule; a cash-out is underwritten to in-place income and equity; land is underwritten to the entitlement path. They are not interchangeable, and a lender strong in one is often absent in another.
How does deal size change who will lend?
Loan size is the single most under-appreciated filter in Houston. Many commercial lenders publish a minimum loan amount, and a deal below it is not a hard negotiation — it simply never reaches an underwriter. Sponsors regularly conclude a sound small-balance deal is unfinanceable when the real problem is that every lender they approached starts above their loan size. The bands below describe how the lender set actually shifts.
How does YieldStack actually place a loan?
You describe the deal once, in a 5-minute submit, and that single file is screened against 5,000+ loan programs. Most deals return 5–8 matches, with a median first offer in under an hour. There is $0 upfront; the fee is 0.50–1.00% and is paid only at closing.
YieldStack is a commercial mortgage brokerage, not a lender. We do not hold the capital and we do not decide your rate — we run the process that gets competing lenders to quote the same deal on the same terms, then help you read the offers side by side.
How deal size changes the lender set
- Under $1M
Financing a Houston deal under $1 million
Under $1 million the constraint is rarely credit quality — it is finding lenders who will look at the size at all. Many commercial lenders set a minimum loan amount above this band, so the small-balance sponsor gets silence rather than a decline. The lenders who do compete here are typically private and regional rather than institutional, and they price on the asset and the plan rather than on a rate sheet.
- $1M – $5M
Financing a Houston deal between $1 million and $5 million
Between $1 million and $5 million the lender set is at its widest and competition genuinely helps you. Bridge, DSCR, construction and permanent structures are all realistically available depending on the property, which means the same deal can be quoted several different ways. This is the band where running one file past many lenders changes the outcome most, because the spread between the best and worst structure offered is widest here.
- Over $5M
Financing a Houston deal over $5 million
Above $5 million the file itself becomes the constraint. Lenders expect a complete package — rent roll, trailing financials, a credible budget where there is construction, and sponsor track record — and they will move quickly when it is present and stall indefinitely when it is not. Structure negotiation matters more than lender count at this size, because a smaller set of lenders will each want the deal shaped differently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a minimum loan size to submit a Houston deal?
No. Submitting takes about five minutes and costs nothing, and the matching runs across 5,000+ loan programs including small-balance lenders. If nothing fits, you find out quickly rather than after weeks of calls.
Can you finance a Houston property held in an LLC?
Yes — investment-purpose commercial lending is normally written to an entity. The entity structure and the guarantor arrangement are part of what gets quoted.
Is YieldStack a lender?
No. YieldStack is a commercial mortgage brokerage, not a lender. Every term sheet comes from a lender in the network and is subject to that lender's underwriting.
Does it cost anything to see terms?
No. It costs $0 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.
Is financing guaranteed?
No. 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.
Next step
One deal.Several lenders.
YieldStack is a commercial mortgage brokerage, not a lender.