Market
Commercial real estate financing in Scranton
Two taxing bodies now sign a Scranton abatement, not three. Any pro forma still modeling a three-body abatement overstates net operating income from the first year forward. Scranton is also a home rule city whose taxing authority reaches past the statutory caps that bind most Pennsylvania municipalities.
- 20,000+loan programs screened
- 5–8matches on a typical deal
- Zero upfrontto submit and compare offers
- 1 hourmedian first offer
What is left of the Scranton abatement?
The city half of it, which is still worth having. What changed is the county: Lackawanna County stopped accepting Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance applications for city parcels, so the county portion of the bill is payable in full on abated improvements from the outset. This is an arithmetic correction rather than a negotiation — the abatement schedule in a seller’s package may simply predate the change, and the fix is to rebuild the tax line against the bodies that actually still sign, then re-solve for coverage.
The city’s time under the Financially Distressed Municipalities Act matters for the same reason. Scranton spent roughly three decades in that program before exiting, and designation is what gives a Pennsylvania municipality a nonresident wage tax other municipalities cannot levy — so exit removes a revenue source the budget was built around. A deal whose returns lean on city services, a city-backed obligation or a redevelopment-authority commitment should be tested against the post-exit revenue structure rather than against the years of published budgets that preceded it.
What else is unusual about underwriting a Scranton deal?
Its taxing authority has been litigated to a decision, which is rare enough to be worth reading. Scranton is a city of the second class A — a class with exactly one other member statewide — and it has operated under a home rule charter since the early nineteen-seventies. Commonwealth Court held that the tax caps in the Local Tax Enabling Act do not bind the city, because home rule cities sit outside those limits and Scranton may still exercise the taxing powers of its former classification; the taxes at issue were the earned income tax, the local services tax, and the business privilege and mercantile taxes, and a group of taxpayers had sued seeking escrow and repayment of prior collections. For a sponsor underwriting an operating business here, or any deal whose returns turn on the local tax burden, that is a broader taxing authority than the statewide default — settled, but broader.
The ground is the other Scranton-specific item, and it belongs in physical diligence rather than in the financial model. The anthracite workings beneath the city are a surveyable and insurable condition, and a Commonwealth review of the underground voids here once went as far as to raise abandoning parts of the city — mine subsidence coverage is therefore an ordinary line on a Scranton file, not an exotic one.
How does YieldStack actually place a loan?
You describe the deal once, in a 5-minute submit, and that single file is screened against 20,000+ 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Scranton tax abatement still worth underwriting?
Yes, at a smaller number than older pro formas show. Rebuild the tax line against two bodies rather than three before solving for coverage, because the difference shows up in every year of the hold.
Does mine subsidence show up in a Scranton loan file?
Routinely. The anthracite workings under the city are a mapped, surveyable and insurable condition, so subsidence coverage and a subsurface review are ordinary diligence rather than an unusual request. Handled up front it is a line item; discovered late it is a reason a lender re-trades or withdraws, which is why it belongs in the file at submission rather than after an inspection report lands.
What does YieldStack charge on a Scranton deal?
The same everywhere: $0 upfront, and a fee of 0.50–1.00% paid only at closing. It is a 5-minute submit, screened against 20,000+ loan programs.
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 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.
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.
Where does YieldStack operate?
Nationwide. YieldStack arranges commercial real estate financing nationwide. Every deal is business-purpose commercial financing, and the broker fee is paid only at closing.
One deal.Several lenders.
YieldStack is a commercial mortgage brokerage, not a lender.