If you’re a mortgage broker working in the commercial mortgage industry, you’ve probably come across your fair share of borrowers looking to clean up their tax debt. It can be difficult to secure a commercial mortgage for small business owners looking to pay off tax debt, but there are small commercial mortgage lenders who want the business and are willing to help these borrowers. However, before you begin submitting loan requests to your lenders, you’ll need to ask your borrower a few questions first.

• How much money do you owe? A small commercial mortgage lender will need to know how much money your borrower owes before proceeding with the loan request. Be sure to talk about this with your borrower and to include it in your loan summary.

• What kind of taxes? You’ll need to be able to discuss with the lender what kind of taxes your borrower is looking to pay off. It could be real estate taxes, income taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes or some combination of the four. With each category of delinquent taxes comes a specific level of penalties and interests, so it’s important to provide a lender with this information.

• Time period? Is your borrower’s tax debt recent? Have they been unable to pay their taxes for years? These are things a small commercial mortgage lender will want to know, and that you need to be prepared to discuss.

• Why haven’t the taxes been paid? The lender will ask you why your borrower hasn’t been paying taxes. Make sure you discuss the reason with your borrower prior to submitting the mortgage request.

Cleaning up tax debt can be tough, but there are small commercial mortgage lenders who are willing to listen to your borrowers’ stories and help them meet their needs. Be sure you speak with your borrower about how much money they owe, what type or types of delinquent taxes they’re trying to pay, how long they’ve had tax debt, and why the taxes haven’t been paid. The more honest and upfront you and your borrower are about this information, the more likely you are to find your borrower the commercial mortgage they need to pay off their tax debt.

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