Financing for $6m lease-up storage facility

[Christopher Brown]

I'm considering selling my existing storage facility and trading up to a larger one.  Tough market to find a good deal in, obviously.  I'd have about $2m to roll into a new deal.  I've located an off-market deal for about $6m that is halfway through its lease-up, but I'm having trouble finding attractive financing terms.  I'm wondering what kind of financing folks have used for these kind of un-stabilized facilities?  

1. Banks: When I bought my current facility, I financed with a local branch of a national lender. They wanted 30-35% down, a 10/25 schedule, floating rates (with the option to do a rate swap and get a fixed rate), and conservative DSCR underwritten on stabilized P&Ls. I'm in the process of identifying the local banks that I need to reach out to, and getting some feedback from my current lender if they are interested in this new facility. Will banks lend on lease-up deals?
2. CMBS: according to my mortgage broker, to get access to the best debt terms right now, I'd need a facility that has been stabilized for 2 yrs (85% occupied) - then, for 30-35% down, I could get the 10/30, 4% terms (with some interest-only yrs on the front) that are available through life companies and conduit lenders right now. So this acquisition won't qualify for CMBS financing without a stabilized occupancy history.
   
3. SBA: I gather they will lend on these kinds of deals with facilities that haven't yet stabilized but they are expensive.  Big fees (as much as 3% origination) and high floating rates (in the ballpark of prime + ~150bp, or mid- to high-6%).
   

Are there other financing options I should be looking at?  Are there non-institutional buyers out there who have acquired these kinds of not-yet-stabilized facilities in the $5-10m range, and what kind of financing did you use?  I'm really reluctant to take on floating financing for the two years it will take to stabilize, in light of the really attractive fixed debt that is otherwise available in the current market.  It might make more sense for me to just keep my current place, cash out refi with 4% 10/30 fixed terms, and find some other way to deploy my equity...

[Dan Wallace]

I think your best bet would be to use an SBA or depending on location, a USDA loan. There are primarily two types of SBA loans, one that primary (but not always) has a floating rate (SBA 7a) and one that couples a conventional first mortgage with a second lien SBA loan (SBA 504). Don't confuse the two programs. The SBA 504 loan can lend up to 85% LTV on this type of project possibly and the rate for the SBA 504 is currently at 3.5% fixed for 25 years. If you can find a good conventional lender, you can get very good combined financing terms.

I just quoted an SBA 504 loan with a conventional first mortgage fixed for 25 years at 5.23% with an SBA 504 loan at 3.5% fixed for 25 years. Unfortunately, a storage facility would not qualify for these conventional terms but you get the idea.