You can do everything right through the purchase and sale agreement (PSA) and still lose the deal in the last 45 days. A loan misses its date, a 1031 clock runs out, a wire goes to the wrong account, or taxes jump after closing.

Terms: net operating income (NOI) is income less operating expenses, before debt. The debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) is NOI ÷ annual loan payments. Debt yield is NOI ÷ loan. Loan to value (LTV) is loan ÷ value. Recourse means a borrower or guarantor is personally liable if the loan is not repaid. Amortization is the schedule over which payments repay it. A qualified intermediary (QI) holds sale proceeds in a 1031 exchange. Boot is cash or other non-like-kind value that becomes taxable.

This builds on Lesson 4 and Lesson 6. Depth: Course 11 and Course 21.

Financing paths at a broker level

You do not pick the loan. You know which loan families fit so the PSA dates match reality. These ranges are market practice from lender guides and SBA.gov and vary by lender and month. The written term sheet governs, and you never quote a rate without a fresh lender quote.

Source	Typical LTV	Typical DSCR	Term and amortization	Recourse
Bank or credit union	65% to 75%	1.20x to 1.25x	5 to 10 year term, 20 to 25 year amortization	Usually full or partial
SBA 504 and 7(a) (owner-users)	504: bank about 50%, certified development company (CDC) about 40%, buyer about 10%. 7(a): lender set	Lender set	Up to 25 years on real estate. 7(a) loans to $5 million	Personal guaranty
CMBS (commercial mortgage-backed securities)	65% to 75%	1.20x to 1.25x, debt yield near 7% or higher	5 to 10 years, 25 to 30 year amortization	Non-recourse with carve-outs
Life company	55% to 65%	1.25x to 1.30x	5 to 30 years	Usually non-recourse
Bridge	65% to 80%	Not fixed	6 to 12 months, floating	Typically recourse

NNN investors. A credit tenant on a long lease fits banks, and life companies or CMBS at larger sizes. At low cap rates the loan constant (annual payments ÷ loan) often exceeds the cap rate, so DSCR, not LTV, sets the loan. Test it on the DSCR calculator.

Industrial investors. Small-bay flex with many short leases gets an NOI haircut for rollover, so banks are common. Stabilized bulk warehouse suits CMBS or life companies. Lease-up and industrial outdoor storage (IOS) yards often need bridge debt.

Industrial owner-users. SBA 504 and 7(a) fit owner-users only. SBA rules (13 CFR 120.131) generally require the owner to occupy at least 51% of an existing building, so pure investors cannot use SBA money. Confirm current terms with an SBA lender. Run the industrial lease vs. buy calculator first.

Retail and medical office use the same families. See the lenders directory, conventional bank loans and SBA 504 and 7(a).

The lender process and timeline

Stage	What happens	Your calendar job
Term sheet	Proceeds, rate basis, recourse, fees	Compare to the buy box
Application	Leases, T-12, entity documents	Chase seller documents
Third-party reports	Appraisal (2 to 4 weeks), Phase I environmental site assessment (ESA) (2 to 3 weeks), condition report, ALTA survey, title	Match orders to diligence dates
Approval and documents	Underwriter approves, lender counsel drafts	Loan approval date in the PSA

Market practice: banks commonly 45 to 75 days, SBA 504 60 to 90, bridge 10 to 30. Put loan approval and appraisal dates in the PSA. In the Commercial Contract version we reviewed, a pre-approval letter did not count as loan approval, so read the current form.

Keep lender and diligence dates on one shared calendar. The lender needs an estoppel (a tenant's signed statement of lease facts) and a subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreement, or SNDA, from each tenant, a Phase I with reliance, and clean title. If one slips, both clocks slip.

What you do and do not do. Do ask which loan family fits, get the lender's written requirements, introduce lenders, track every lender deadline, and disclose any referral compensation in writing. Do not quote rates or approval odds, take an application, negotiate loan terms, or promise report dates. Agents are not loan originators. Florida's mortgage brokering law (Chapter 494, F.S.) reaches some commercial loans, such as those to an individual borrower or from a noninstitutional investor (s. 494.001). Ask your broker of record before doing anything that looks like arranging a loan.

1031 replacement mechanics

A 1031 exchange defers tax when investment or business real property is swapped for like-kind real property (IRC section 1031). The CPA decides whether it works. You keep the clock and the shortlist. The rules themselves (45-day identification, 180-day exchange period, identification limits, value and debt replacement) are explained in Lesson 2. At the buying stage your job is to keep them on the calendar and protect the deal.

Item	What you do
QI first	The QI agreement must exist before the relinquished closing, and the client never receives proceeds. Ask on Day 1 and add cooperation and assignment language to the PSA
Day 45	Have a shortlist before day 0, deliver the signed list two days early, and identify the deal under contract plus backups
Day 180	Set loan and closing dates inside the outside date, and ask the CPA about late-year sales
Value and debt	Compare price and loan to the sale numbers early. Gaps create boot
Reverse exchange	Buying first through an exchange titleholder (Rev. Proc. 2000-37) costs more. Refer it to the QI
DST backstop	A Delaware statutory trust (DST) interest can be a backup. It is a security, so never sell or solicit it. Refer to the client's advisor

After day 45 you cannot add a new property, so keep a backup alive. If the deal dies on day 60 and nothing else was identified, the client cannot finish the exchange. Do not give tax advice. Which costs exchange funds may pay is a QI and CPA question. Use the 1031 timeline calculator and see Course 21, Lesson 3.

Buyer closing costs in Florida

Item	Basis	Customary payer
Deed documentary stamps	70 cents per $100 (F.S. 201.02)	Seller under the Commercial Contract form, negotiable
Mortgage documentary stamps	35 cents per $100 of debt (F.S. 201.08)	Buyer
Intangible tax	2 mills, 0.2% of the mortgage (F.S. 199.133)	Buyer
Recording, title policy, closing fee	F.S. 28.24, premium set by rule. Get the title agent's quote	Recording: buyer. Title: by contract
Lender fees, appraisal, survey, Phase I, attorney	Quotes	Buyer
Prorations, tax and insurance escrow	PSA and lender	Credits, deposits

A proration splits an expense, such as taxes or rent, between seller and buyer as of closing day. All parties to a taxable document are liable to the state whoever agrees to pay. The seller's mirror view is in Course 22, Lesson 4, and the Florida CRE tax cheat sheet is a quick reference.

Florida rules to know before closing

Rule	Broker-level point	What you do
Foreign ownership (F.S. 692.201 to 692.205, SB 264)	Foreign principals of listed countries may not own land within 10 miles of a military installation or fenced critical infrastructure such as an airport, seaport or power plant (F.S. 692.203). Certain China-tied persons face a broader statewide bar (F.S. 692.204). Buyers sign an affidavit. Decisions turn on domicile, organization and control, never ethnicity, name, appearance or accent	Ask every buyer the same questions: who owns and controls the entity, and where it is organized. Hand over the affidavit early and refer close calls to your broker of record and an attorney
FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act)	If the seller is foreign, the buyer generally withholds 15% of the amount realized and remits within 20 days	Get the non-foreign certification at contract. Example: 15% of $2,500,000 is $375,000
Assessment cap reset (F.S. 193.1555)	A sale or change of control resets the property to just value (the appraiser's market value) the next January 1, and the 10% cap excludes school levies. Lesson 4 shows how to model it	Underwrite the new value, then compare the first estimate after closing
Sales tax on commercial rent	Repealed for rental periods beginning Oct. 1, 2025 (HB 7031); see Lesson 4	Never add it to NOI. Update old rent rolls
Community development districts (CDDs) and special assessments	The district disclosure applies to initial sales (F.S. 190.048). A resale buyer may get none	Check the tax bill's non-ad valorem section and the district's letter

The reset is where new owners get hurt. Illustrative math with invented seller assessments and the 17.5 mill rate (1.75 percent) from Lesson 4, taxing the new value at price. Bayside's building, priced at $2,876,250 after the Lesson 6 roof credit: $1,800,000 x 0.0175 = $31,500 becomes $2,876,250 x 0.0175 = $50,334, up $18,834. Palmetto Ridge's pad: $1,400,000 x 0.0175 = $24,500 becomes $2,500,000 x 0.0175 = $43,750, up $19,250. The NNN tenant reimburses the pad's increase. Bayside pays its own building's tax less the 30 percent share (6,000 ÷ 20,000) that its NNN tenant reimburses, so it carries 70 percent of the increase: $18,834 x 0.70 = $13,184.

This is education, not legal or tax advice. Confirm legal and tax points with your broker of record, a Florida attorney and the client's CPA.

The buyer closing checklist

Pair this with the commercial closing checklist and Course 10, Lesson 7.

Item	What you verify
Funds and wire	Instructions come only from the title agent and are confirmed by phone. Exchange funds come from the QI
Insurance binder	Effective at closing, lender named, wind deductible meets lender terms. On NNN, the tenant certificate names the landlord
Lender conditions	Every condition cleared. The Phase I has reliance and its components are within 180 days of closing (40 CFR 312.20)
Estoppels and SNDA	Signed, recent (lenders often want about 30 days or less), matching lease and rent roll
Title policy and survey	Exceptions cleared. Survey under the 2026 ALTA standards (effective Feb. 23, 2026), certified to buyer, lender and title
Closing statement	Reviewed line by line 2 to 3 business days early
Entity documents	Buyer name ties to the PSA, assignment delivered, affidavit signed
Leases, deposits, notices	Leases assigned, security deposits credited to buyer, tenant notice letters signed, non-foreign certification in file

(a) Situation: Day 1, setting the wire rule with the client. "[Name], one rule before we start. Wire instructions will only come from the title company, never from me by email. If anyone emails new or changed instructions, stop and call the title company at the number on its website. Criminals watch deals and time these emails."

After the keys

Day-one handoff. Sign a management agreement or self-manage plan and hand over lease files, keys, codes and warranties. Send tenant letters with the new owner, rent payment instructions and a contact, and request insurance certificates. Confirm payment details by phone. Open utilities, assign or end vendor contracts, and confirm the policy is in force.

First 90 days. Calendar every lease event: renewal notices, rent bumps, CAM (common area maintenance) reconciliations, roof warranty dates. Compare the first reassessed tax estimate to your underwriting.

Keeping the client. Offer an annual review: cap rate check against NNN comps, rent versus market, the refinance window, and the next 1031. Ask for referrals per firm policy. Log every touch with Course 23, Lesson 7.

(b) Situation: 90-day check-in. "[Name], 90 days in on [property]: your reassessed tax estimate versus our underwriting, the next lease event on [date], and a rent-versus-market review if you want one. If you know an owner who would value the same approach, I would welcome an introduction.

[Agent name], [title] | MaxLife Commercial, a division of MaxLife Realty LLC | [phone] | [email]"

Rookie mistakes in buyer rep

Mistake	Fix
Forgetting the 1031 clock	Build the day 0 calendar at contract
Underwriting the seller's tax bill	Model tax on price times millage
Emailing wire instructions	Title agent only, verified by phone
Giving tax, legal or lending advice	Refer to the CPA, attorney or lender
Promising loan, survey or Phase I dates	Give the vendor's estimate, pad deadlines
Letting the deposit go hard by accident	Calendar the date and the written acceptability notice
Screening buyers by nationality	Ask entity questions of everyone

A worked example (illustrative numbers)

Assumptions (invented, not market data and not MaxLife results). NNN: Palmetto Ridge Holdings LLC (Lessons 1, 2 and 5) sells an office building for $2,400,000 with a $900,000 payoff, so net equity, ignoring selling costs, is $2,400,000 - $900,000 = $1,500,000. It buys the $2,500,000 single-tenant absolute NNN pad in Seminole County with a corporate guaranty, the contract won in Lesson 5. Buyer NOI is $150,000, a 6.00% cap rate. The relinquished property closes Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Owner-user: Bayside Fabrication Inc. (Lessons 1, 2 and 6) buys its small-bay flex building in Orange County, contracted at $3,000,000 and settled at $2,876,250 after the Lesson 6 roof credit, with the SBA 504 structure from Lesson 2. Invented loan terms: NNN bank loan at 6.75% over 25 years, a loan constant of 0.082909; Bayside's bank loan at the same terms and its CDC loan at 6.00% over 25 years, a constant of 0.077316.

Loan sizing. For the NNN pad the lender uses the lowest test. The SBA 504 owner-user follows the program's structure.

Test	NNN pad (Palmetto Ridge)	Owner-user (Bayside, SBA 504)
Structure	65% LTV: 0.65 x $2,500,000 = $1,625,000	Bank 50% = $1,438,125; CDC 40% = $1,150,500; Bayside 10% = $287,625
Coverage	DSCR 1.25x: $150,000 ÷ 1.25 = $120,000, then ÷ 0.082909 = about $1,447,000	The lender sets its own coverage test for an owner-user; Lesson 2 used a $220,000 payment budget
Loan used and debt service	$1,000,000 x 0.082909 = $82,909, so DSCR is $150,000 ÷ $82,909 = 1.81x	$1,438,125 x 0.082909 = $119,234 plus $1,150,500 x 0.077316 = $88,952, so $208,186

DSCR, not LTV, sets the NNN limit, but Palmetto Ridge borrows only $1,000,000 because it must reinvest all $1,500,000 of net equity.

NNN value and debt test. Price $2,500,000 is at least $2,400,000, and the $1,000,000 loan is at least the $900,000 payoff. Equity is $2,500,000 - $1,000,000 = $1,500,000, all net equity, so no boot. A $2,000,000 purchase would leave a $400,000 value shortfall for the CPA to review.

The NNN 1031 clock.

Day	Date	Event
Before 0	Before Oct. 15	QI agreement signed, shortlist ready
0	Thu Oct. 15, 2026	Relinquished closes, proceeds to the QI
20	Wed Nov. 4	Replacement PSA effective (the Lesson 5 contract), with exchange and assignment language
43	Fri Nov. 27	Working deadline: signed identification of the NNN pad plus two backups
45	Sun Nov. 29	Legal deadline, no weekend extension
50	Fri Dec. 4	Diligence ends 30 days after the effective date, deposit goes hard
64	Fri Dec. 18	Loan approval date written into the PSA
81	Mon Jan. 4, 2027	Replacement closes. Day 60 after the effective date is Sunday, Jan. 3, so the contract date moves to Monday
180	Tue Apr. 13, 2027	Outside date. The Apr. 15, 2027 return due date is later, so day 180 governs (CPA confirms)

Day 81 leaves 180 - 81 = 99 days of cushion.

Buyer closing estimates. Deed stamps are the seller's cost here. Fees are placeholders.

Line	NNN pad	Bayside flex	Basis
Mortgage stamps	$3,500	$9,060	1,000,000 ÷ 100 x $0.35; 2,588,625 ÷ 100 x $0.35
Intangible tax	$2,000	$5,177	Loan x 0.002
Lender fee (assumed 1% of loan)	$10,000	$25,886	Assumed
Appraisal, Phase I ESA, survey, condition report	$14,500	$16,000	Assumed
Title policies and recording	$9,500	$12,000	Placeholders
Buyer attorney	$8,000	$10,000	Assumed
Tax escrow, 3 months	$10,938	$12,584	Price x 0.0175 ÷ 12 x 3
Total buyer costs	$58,438	$90,707	2.34% of price; 3.15% of price

NNN cash to close is $1,500,000 from the QI plus $58,438, or $1,558,438. Year-1 cash flow is $150,000 - $82,909 = $67,091, so cash-on-cash is $67,091 ÷ $1,558,438 = 4.31%.

Bayside's cash to close is the $287,625 down payment plus $90,707, or $378,332. That leaves $400,000 - $378,332 = $21,668 of the cash Lesson 2 set aside, about $11,668 better than the $390,000 estimated at the $3,000,000 price because of the credit. The roof still has to be replaced: the credit covered $123,750 of a $165,000 bid, so $165,000 - $123,750 = $41,250 is Bayside's own, plus the work itself, and it needs working capital outside the $400,000. Year-one occupancy check (the Lesson 2 method): $208,186 debt service less $72,000 of rent from the 6,000 SF tenant is $136,186, against $182,000 of current rent, or $45,814 a year less before roof costs, reassessed taxes and repairs.

Key takeaways

Banks fit most NNN and small-bay flex buyers, SBA fits owner-users only, and CMBS and life companies fit larger deals. Never quote rates or arrange loans.
For 1031 clients, keep day 0, 45 and 180 on one calendar with loan dates inside it, identify backups, and leave tax advice to the CPA.
Underwrite reassessed taxes, verify CDDs on resales, and verify every wire by phone.
Keep the client with a 90-day check-in and an annual review.

Next: Course complete. Continue with due diligence in depth in Course 10 and negotiation in Course 12.

Financing, Closing, and After the Keys