Refinancing vs taking out a 30-year loan on commercial property?

[Kyle Shepherd]

Hey folks - was on the phone earlier with a loan officer at my local bank. Getting my feet wet. Asked about 30-year loans on commercial properties (since rentals are classified as commercial properties, I learned). He said there really is no such thing as a 30-year loan on a commercial property. 15 years, but not 30.

So, I'm puzzled - I've heard tons of folks on the BP podcast say they have however many rentals, and they are 30-year loans, and their tenants are paying the monthly loan payment, and so on. I've heard similar things in the BRRRR discussions - they got a hard money loan, rehabbed a property, then refinanced their rental into a 30-year loan.

Am I confusing terms? Or am I missing something? Is refinancing a rental (commercial) property (say one that you purchased and rehabbed with hard money) into a 30-year term totally different from trying to purchase a rental (commercial) property with a 30-year loan?

[Kerry Baird]

Single family houses, and 2-4 unit residential properties are not considered commercial. 5 plex units, small apartments and up are commercial.