Commercial mortgage for property in Chicago

[Elizabeth J.]

We are looking to purchase a 6 unit building in Chicago, which requires a commercial mortgage since it is over 4 units.  This is the first time we have made a foray into commercial mortgages, and the fees and costs seem super high (could total close to $15K-$20K when all said and done!).  We have so far gone through a broker to locate two interested lenders--the broker's fee is 1% of the total loan amount and the fees for the lender are already about $6,000, not including any remaining costs at closing.  This amount mainly covers the lender's application and underwriting fees.  Wondering at this point, if we should just go to a local bank with a presence in Chicago; we no longer live locally, so that seems to be putting us at a bit of a disadvantage, since harder to build relationships with Chicago banks.  We are going to try Fifth Third Bank, since we have branches locally and I know they also have branches in Chicago.  Just wondered if anyone has any words of wisdom about obtaining commercial mortgages and whether the fees and costs are customarily significantly higher than with conventional mortgages.  Do these lenders ever negotiate on their fees/costs?  Do they ever eliminate the pre-payment penalty requirement?