Life Company Financing
Long-term, fixed-rate financing from life insurance companies for stabilized core and core-plus CRE.
Life insurance companies are among the most disciplined and lowest-spread permanent lenders in commercial real estate. They are long-duration asset holders by nature — matching long-term liabilities with long-term mortgage assets — and price accordingly. For qualifying stabilized assets, life company financing typically prices 10 to 30 basis points inside CMBS conduit, with more flexible prepayment options and less post-closing operational friction. For sponsors with the right asset and a long-term hold strategy, it is often the most attractive permanent capital available.
Life companies are selective by design. They prefer stabilized, cash-flowing assets with strong occupancy, institutional-quality sponsors, and conservative loan-to-value ratios. Office, industrial, multifamily, grocery-anchored retail, and mixed-use are all in play — but the deal has to be clean and the sponsor track record has to hold up. LTG maintains active relationships with 40+ life company lenders and knows which ones are open for which asset types and markets in the current allocation cycle.
Life Company vs. CMBS — When Each Makes Sense
Life company loans generally offer lower spreads and better prepayment flexibility than CMBS — particularly on yield maintenance vs. defeasance — but require more conservative LTV (typically 55–65%) and are generally not available for transitional or lease-up assets. CMBS is better for higher leverage needs or larger loan sizes where the conduit market has more depth.
LTG runs competing processes between life companies and CMBS conduits when a deal fits both capital types — which is often the case for stabilized multifamily, industrial, and office assets above $15M. The spread difference at closing can be significant, and knowing which execution path is optimal before going to market is part of what LTG delivers.
Typical Deal Parameters
| Loan Size | $10M to $500M+ |
| Leverage | 55–65% LTV (typical); up to 70% for strong assets/sponsors |
| Rate | Fixed; 10+ year Treasury spread (typically 130–200 bps) |
| Term | 5 to 30 years |
| Recourse | Non-recourse with standard carve-outs |
| Asset Types | Multifamily, industrial, office, retail (anchored), mixed-use |
Own a stabilized core asset? Life company financing may be your most attractive permanent debt option.