Problem:
The sponsor aimed to refinance a fully occupied East Lakeview mixed-use asset while maintaining flexibility around loan structure, prepayment, proceeds, and long-term ownership objectives. Given the volatility in Treasury yields and broader uncertainty in the lending market, the sponsor needed a clear comparison of available executions before committing to a lender. The challenge was not just finding a lender. The challenge was creating a full market read, preserving optionality, and using that market feedback to secure the most favorable structure available.

Solution:
ECM ran a broad market process across agency lenders, life companies, local banks, regional banks, and national banks. This gave the sponsor real-time feedback on pricing, proceeds, structure, prepayment, recourse, fees, and lender appetite. Rather than replacing an existing lending relationship, the process helped validate and improve it. ECM used the market feedback to support negotiations with the sponsor’s relationship bank, while also managing mid-process adjustments as rate conditions shifted. ECM also negotiated flexible prepayment, improved fees, and sponsor-specific loan document language within the national bank’s standard documentation process.

Outcome:
The sponsor closed a $5,250,000 non-recourse refinance, with a 190 bps spread, full-term interest-only, and flexible prepayment. The final structure provided competitive spread pricing, conservative leverage, reduced fees, and short-term optionality in a volatile rate environment. The transaction demonstrated the value of running a full market process, even when a sponsor has a strong existing lender relationship. By creating competitive tension and clear market validation, ECM helped the sponsor secure improved terms while preserving the relationship with its national bank lender.