Shafiq Hirani CCIM explains that while you can't control interest rates or the job market, you can control your building's net operating income. Every dollar of NOI recovered before refinancing increases your loan proceeds. One owner who delayed 90 days but raised rents and cut costs got $40,000 more in proceeds without any rate improvement.
You cannot control the Fed, oil prices, or the job market, but you can control your NOI. Every dollar of net operating income you recover today shows up on the day you refinance. The owners who tighten their buildings during this window are the ones who capture the upside when it arrives. The ones who wait will be competing with everyone else. I worked with an owner who kept delaying his refinance, waiting 90 days for a better rate. Instead of just waiting, We used that window to clean up his building's operations, brought 2 units to market rate, recaptured utility costs, and tightened his trailing financials. When he refinanced, rates had not moved at all, but his stronger NOI translated into $40,000 more in loan proceeds. That is the difference between waiting on the market and working on your building.
