Loan Approval Qualifications - Multifamily/Commercial

[Matt Kvalheim]

Hello everyone,

I am going to apply to assume an existing loan on a 25 unit property that I have under contract.  The company that the loan was originated with said that their basic qualifications are that I have a net worth at least equal to the loan value and that I have 10 months of mortgage payments held in reserve (liquid).

While I know that my net worth is more than enough to qualify and that I will have the reserves available, I also know that my credit score has recently taken a hit due to the fact that I have been taking advantage of 0% interest credit cards.  My overall balance owed is a very high percentage of my total credit available, and my latest credit score has me at 641 (Fair).

I know a residential loan officer would have an issue with such a low score, but what about commercial lenders?  The lender in this case sells their loans to Freddie Mac and the only qualifications they told me about were the two I mentioned above.  Is it a given that I should have 700+ credit score, or is it not as important on commercial loans?  Should I pay off my 0% credit cards now to try to improve my score (I really don't want to unless I have to, because it's 0% with over 12 months left on most of them)?

Thanks for the advice!