The Commercial Mortgage Broker for Complex Deals Your Clients Can't Place Themselves
CLS CRE works with attorneys, CPAs, fiduciaries, receivers, family offices, and other professionals whose clients need capital markets expertise -- not a bank relationship manager. When the deal is complicated, we are the call.
What a Capital Markets Specialist Does That a Bank Cannot
Sophisticated clients do not always have straightforward financing needs. A probate estate with a multifamily asset and a looming court deadline cannot wait for a bank's credit committee. A borrower exiting Chapter 11 is not a candidate for any conventional bank program. A family office repositioning a trophy industrial portfolio needs a broker who can run a competitive process across life insurance companies, debt funds, CMBS lenders, and agency platforms simultaneously -- not a banker pitching one proprietary product.
Commercial Lending Solutions operates as a capital markets intermediary with more than 1,000 direct lender relationships across every institutional category: life companies, CMBS conduits, agency platforms (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD), commercial banks, credit unions, debt funds, bridge lenders, SBA lenders, and private capital sources. When your client has a financing need that falls outside what any single institution can accommodate -- because of deal complexity, timeline, collateral type, borrower profile, or capital stack structure -- that is precisely the situation where a broker adds the most value. We run a competitive process, negotiate terms, and manage execution from term sheet through closing, keeping you informed throughout.
CLS CRE does not compete with banks for commodity loans. The easy deals are not where we focus. We focus on the deals that need a specialist: the estate that has to sell or refinance by a court date, the developer who needs construction-to-perm financing with a complicated capital stack, the receiver trying to stabilize a distressed asset quickly enough to preserve value, the CPA whose client just sold a business and has 180 days to close on replacement property. Those are the deals we are built for.
Referral Partner Categories
Each professional category below represents a distinct client situation. Click through to the dedicated hub for that category -- deal types, lender options, process, and how to make a referral.
Fiduciaries and Probate
Estates, trusts, and conservatorships with commercial real estate
Learn more →Bankruptcy and Restructuring
DIP financing, exit capital, and post-confirmation placement
Learn more →CPAs and Tax Advisors
1031 exchanges, maturing loans, and portfolio refinancing
Learn more →1031 Exchange Specialists
Replacement property financing within the 180-day window
Learn more →Family Offices
Portfolio strategy, complex structures, and trophy assets
Learn more →Business Brokers and M&A
Business acquisitions with real estate -- SBA, conventional, and seller financing
Learn more →Receivers
Bridge capital to stabilize and maximize distressed assets
Learn more →Environmental Attorneys
Contaminated property financing and expert witness services
Learn more →Commercial Appraisers
Natural referral partnership at every stage of the deal
Learn more →Divorce and Family Law
Buyout refinancing and bridge to sale in dissolution
Learn more →Hard Money Lenders
Conventional takeouts when your borrower stabilizes
Learn more →Healthcare and Senior Housing
HUD 232, bridge-to-HUD, and AL/MC construction
Learn more →OZ and LIHTC Advisors
Senior debt for complex affordable and OZ capital stacks
Learn more →Commercial Insurance Brokers
CRE clients you already serve, financing they need
Learn more →What We Do Best
CLS CRE is not a generalist shop that takes whatever walks in. These are the three deal categories where we invest the most attention and where our lender network provides the clearest competitive advantage.
Investor Deals
Investor-owned commercial real estate is the core of our practice. We finance stabilized assets, value-add repositions, and transitional properties across every major property type. When a deal does not fit a single lender's box, we know which institutions to call and in what sequence.
- Bridge loans (6 months to 3 years, all property types)
- DSCR and debt fund permanent financing
- Life company loans (long-term fixed, sub-200 basis points)
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agency financing
- CMBS conduit for larger assets and single-asset trusts
- Hard money and private capital (speed, not credit)
- Portfolio loans and cross-collateralized facilities
- Mezzanine and preferred equity for leveraged structures
Construction Deals
Ground-up construction and major renovation financing requires a broker who understands how construction lenders think: sponsor experience, budget controls, market absorption, and permanent take-out credibility. We have lender relationships across every construction financing category.
- Ground-up multifamily and mixed-use construction loans
- Build-to-rent (BTR) community development financing
- Construction-to-permanent single-close structures
- Industrial and warehouse ground-up development
- Senior housing and assisted living construction
- Affordable housing construction including LIHTC and OZ deals
- Infill residential and condo construction
- Renovation and heavy value-add bridge financing
Complex Situations
Some deals are not about the property or the sponsor's balance sheet. They are about the legal or structural circumstances surrounding the asset. These situations require a broker who has worked with courts, trustees, receivers, and counsel before, and who knows which lenders are willing to engage.
- Bankruptcy DIP financing and plan exit capital
- Receivership bridge loans and stabilization financing
- Probate and estate financing with court approval requirements
- Conservatorship and trust asset monetization
- Marital dissolution buyout refinancing
- Contaminated property financing (Phase II environments)
- Distressed note acquisitions and REO takeouts
- SBA 7(a) and 504 for business acquisition real estate
How a Referral Works
Three steps. We keep it simple because your time and your client's time are valuable. No forms, no intake portals, no waiting.
Email loans@clscre.com or call 310.708.0690. CC Trevor if you like, and describe the situation briefly: property type, location, approximate loan size, and what makes it complicated. Five sentences is enough. We will take it from there.
Within one business day, you will receive a candid read on the deal -- which lender categories fit, what the likely terms look like in the current market, and whether there are any structural issues to address before launching. No sugarcoating. If the deal is not financeable, we will tell you that too.
Once engaged, we handle lender outreach, term sheet evaluation and negotiation, documentation coordination, and closing management. You stay informed at every major milestone. Your client gets institutional-quality capital markets execution without needing to manage the process themselves.
Expert Witness Services for Attorneys
CLS CRE offers both capital placement and expert witness services -- a combination that is particularly valuable for attorneys handling CRE financing disputes or contaminated property litigation.
Rule 26 Expert Witness for Commercial Real Estate Financing
Trevor Damyan is available as a Rule 26 expert witness for matters involving commercial real estate financing feasibility, loan origination standards, lender liability, contaminated property financing, and capital markets industry practice. He is an active market participant with CBRE Capital Markets and Marcus and Millichap MMCC background -- his opinions reflect what lenders actually require today, not retired-practitioner recollection.
Attorneys handling both a litigation matter and a client's concurrent financing need will find that CLS CRE can serve both engagements. Expert witness retention and capital placement operate independently and are disclosed appropriately to all parties.
Engagements available for plaintiff and defense counsel. Federal and state court. Nationwide.
Read more about expert witness services →Deals That Required a Specialist
A sample of the complex situations we have navigated for professionals and their clients. Names and addresses are not disclosed.
Probate Estate Bridge Loan: Multifamily Buyout, Los Angeles
A court-supervised estate needed to refinance a multifamily asset and distribute proceeds to beneficiaries within a court-ordered timeline. Conventional lenders declined. We placed a bridge loan with an institutional private lender in 19 days.
Read case study →Chapter 11 Exit Financing: Industrial Portfolio
A reorganizing borrower needed a committed financing source as a condition of plan confirmation. Bankruptcy counsel introduced us at plan negotiation stage. We delivered a committed term sheet from a debt fund before the disclosure statement was filed.
Read case study →CPA Referral: Life Company Refinance, Industrial Portfolio
A CPA introduced a longtime client whose maturing bank loan was not being renewed. We placed a 10-year fixed-rate life company loan at sub-market pricing, structured around a complex 1031 exchange basis issue the CPA had identified.
Read case study →Start a Referral Conversation Today
Tell us about your client's situation. We will give you a candid read within one business day -- deal fit, likely lender categories, and any issues we see upfront. No obligation, no boilerplate, no forms.
Send a Referral →No referral fees exchanged. CLS CRE is compensated by the lender at closing. Your client gets competitive financing; you get a trusted resource for every complex deal that follows.