How New City Financial underwrites light industrial financing
Light industrial is one of the more underwriter-friendly asset classes in commercial real estate, and New City Financial treats it that way. Rather than asking for years of personal tax returns, we qualify the loan on the building's own cash flow — its net operating income measured against its debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR). Warehouse, flex, and small-bay properties tend to carry simple, predictable expense structures and long tenant tenure, which makes their in-place income straightforward to model. Deals that clear a 1.0 DSCR or better, backed by a credible rent roll or realistic market rents, sit squarely in our wheelhouse. That structure is what lets an LLC, a partnership, or a self-employed sponsor finance an industrial asset without the income-documentation hurdles a conventional bank imposes.
The physical characteristics that define light industrial also shape how we size a loan. Clear height, the ratio of dock-high to grade-level loading, truck-court depth, three-phase power and electrical capacity, and the office-to-warehouse finish split all influence how re-leasable the space is and, in turn, its durable value. On terms, we lend up to 75% of value on loan amounts from $75,000 to $50 million, carry a 500 FICO floor, and close in under three weeks when title and third-party reports keep pace. Fixed-rate financing over 3, 8, and 30 years with no balloon payments gives owners a debt cost they can lock against a multi-year hold — useful when a tenant's lease runs long and rent steps are already scheduled. Any rates shown on this site are illustrative; your actual pricing depends on the asset, the market, your leverage, and sponsor experience.
Light industrial deals we finance
We finance across the light industrial spectrum: single-tenant warehouse and distribution buildings, multi-tenant small-bay parks with staggered leases, flex space that pairs a modest office buildout with warehouse behind it, last-mile logistics and fulfillment space, and light manufacturing or assembly facilities. Owner-occupied industrial — where your operating company takes space in the building it owns — is eligible as a business-purpose loan, which is common in this asset class because so many industrial users prefer to own their footprint rather than lease it. Value-add is a natural fit too: buying an under-leased or dated facility, upgrading loading doors, HVAC, lighting, or power, and re-tenanting at market to lift NOI is exactly the kind of business plan our financing is built to support.
Because every loan is business-purpose, we do not finance primary residences, and as a commercial lending firm we work with investors and business owners rather than consumer borrowers. Typical uses are acquisition, rate-and-term refinance to replace a maturing or higher-cost loan, and cash-out refinance to free up equity for the next building or a capital-improvement budget. If you are weighing whether a specific warehouse or flex property pencils, the quickest path is a short conversation about the rent roll, the in-place NOI, and your plan for the space — and we can tell you quickly whether the deal fits.
