Commercial & Investment Lending
Commercial lending in Ocala & across Florida — from someone who's stood on the other side of the project.
Most loan officers meet a commercial deal on paper. Andy Gaab spent twenty years inside them — running commercial-scale construction and rebuild projects as a senior project manager before he ever originated a loan. Through Coast 2 Coast Mortgage's commercial platform, he finances the buildings Florida businesses actually run: offices, retail, warehouses, apartments, and the property types most residential shops won't touch.
Starting the conversation is free and touches nothing — your credit stays exactly where it is.
Why a commercial file wants a builder's eye
A commercial loan is underwritten on the property's performance: net operating income, lease strength, condition, and what the business plan does to all three. Andy's career before lending was running commercial-scale projects — damage assessment through turn-key completion for the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust — which means he reads rent rolls, capital-expenditure budgets and contractor bids the way the lender's underwriter will, before your file ever gets there.
The commercial & investor menu, with the real numbers
These are the lanes on the Coast 2 Coast platform today — guidelines from the current program sheets, and they move, so treat every number as “most programs, as of this writing” and the priced scenario as the real answer.
Commercial real estate — to $20M and beyond
Owner-occupied or investor: office, retail, warehouse and industrial, apartment buildings, mixed-use, self-storage, hotels and motels, restaurants, auto services, carwashes, gas stations, daycare centers, assisted living, marinas, golf courses, mobile home and RV parks, churches, agricultural land and development projects. The property's income leads the underwrite; comprehensive financials on the business and the building complete it.
DSCR investor loans — the 1–4 unit workhorse
The rental qualifies on its own rent — no personal income verification, and no cap on the number of financed properties in your portfolio, which is why serious Florida landlords migrate here as they scale. Below-1.0 coverage can still work with compensating factors; that's a scenario conversation, not a web-form rejection.
Short-term rental loans — Airbnb & VRBO, financed properly
Purpose-built for 1–4 unit vacation rentals: qualify on AirDNA revenue projections or twelve months of actual rental history instead of your tax returns. For a market ringed by the springs, the Villages traffic and horse-country event weekends, this is the quiet growth lane.
PadSplit & co-living — maximum income per door
Room-by-room rental financing for converted living spaces — qualification flexes across DSCR, bank statements, or projected rental income. Coast 2 Coast carries one of the first purpose-built PadSplit programs in the country, and converted-space properties are exactly where a lender with a construction eye earns his fee.
Foreign national loans — U.S. property, no U.S. credit history
For international buyers investing in Florida real estate: international credit references and banking relationships stand in for a FICO score, and translated, converted financials document the income. Second homes and investment properties both fit.
Bridge & value-add capital
When the purchase can't wait for permanent financing, or the plan is buy → improve → refinance on the new income, short-term capital carries the gap. Andy structures the exit at the same time as the entry — the renovation budget vetted by someone who has run one, the refinance lane chosen before the first draw.
The Ocala & Marion County texture
This market's commercial deals rarely look like a downtown office tower. They look like a warehouse off the 484 corridor, a retail strip on Maricamp, a self-storage expansion, a horse-farm parcel with development plans, an RV park near the springs, or a four-unit deal graduating into a twelve-unit. That mid-size, slightly unusual deal is exactly what a broker with a wide platform and a construction background is built for — and exactly what the big banks quote slowest on.
Send Andy the shape of the deal — property type, price, income if it has any — and you'll get a straight answer on which lane it belongs in and what it takes to close. Seven days a week, from a direct line.
Preliminary Figures
Does the property carry itself? The DSCR math.
Commercial and investment lending starts with one question: does the income cover the debt? True commercial programs want 1.25x coverage; DSCR investor loans start at 1.0x — run your numbers.
Illustrative estimates only — not a rate quote, an offer, or a commitment to lend. Your actual figures depend on your full scenario. More tools on the calculators page.
Common questions
What property types can actually be financed?
The Coast 2 Coast commercial platform covers a genuinely wide list: office, retail, warehouse and industrial, apartment buildings and mixed-use, self-storage, hotels, restaurants, auto services, gas stations and convenience stores, assisted living, marinas, mobile home parks, RV parks, churches, land and development projects, and more. If your property type is unusual, that's a conversation — not an automatic no.
How big can the loan be, and how much do I need down?
True commercial programs run to $20 million and beyond at up to 75% loan-to-value — plan on roughly 25% equity. DSCR investor loans typically want 20–25% down; short-term rental and PadSplit programs reach 80% LTV on purchases. Guidelines vary by program and property type, and they change; Andy prices your specific scenario rather than quoting a table.
How does commercial qualification differ from a home loan?
The property does most of the qualifying. Lenders underwrite the asset's income — commercial programs want a debt service coverage ratio of at least 1.25x, meaning the property's net income covers the payment with room to spare. Your credit and financials still matter, but the building's numbers lead the conversation.
What about small residential rentals — do those count as commercial?
One-to-four unit rentals usually fit better in a DSCR investor loan: qualified on the property's rent from a 1.0x coverage ratio, credit from 620, 20–25% down, no cap on how many financed properties you hold, and you can close in an LLC. Five or more units crosses into true commercial territory. Andy runs both lanes, so the deal lands in whichever prices better.
Can commercial money fund construction or renovation of the property?
Yes — development projects and land are on the platform's menu, and value-add plays (buy, improve, refinance on the new income) are standard commercial strategy. This is where Andy's background earns its keep: budgets, draw schedules and contractor packages were his job for twenty years, and a commercial file built by someone who reads those documents fluently closes cleaner.
No pressure, no credit pull
Run your commercial loan scenario by Andy.
Most scenarios are more solvable than the internet makes them look — and the genuinely hard ones deserve a straight answer fast. Send Andy the shape of yours; he reviews it personally and gets back to you the same day, seven days a week.
🔒 This form starts a conversation, not an application — your credit and SSN stay untouched until you decide to apply. Equal Housing Opportunity. Andrew Gaab, NMLS #2761701 · Coast 2 Coast Mortgage, NMLS #376205.