[BrenBarn]

Right. . . but isn't that just obviously stupid? If I say the rent is $3k a month but you get all 12 months free, why would anyone be fooled by that? Why would you base it on some hypothetical rent rather than the amount of actual money that the property takes in?

[bluGill]

The bank knows but they maintain the fiction that they don't because their books collapse too if they count those. Banks make money from loans.

Don't forget this is typically a short term things. When the economy improves the building will be rented again. So they need the books to look good today to get through.

[bombcar]

And commercial loans are NOT like your home mortgage. One you got your home loan, the bank no longer cares (or even can care) about the value of the house, only if you’re not actively destroying the property and maintaining insurance and paying on time.

Commercial loans are often shorter duration and roll over and highly tied to the valuation of the property or properties, and often have clauses allowing them to call the loan if valuation dips too much (think: margin call).

[BrenBarn]

> Don't forget this is typically a short term things. When the economy improves the building will be rented again.

In my experience in many cases this is not true. The shift toward online shopping, for instance, has meant that a lot of retail properties have no realistic chance of recovering to previous values. The accounting shenanigans described in this thread are just a way for various people to play make-believe that their properties haven't already lost value permanently.

[bluGill]

There have always been shifts in where people shop. However retail overall is still doing very well. Downtowns as a place people go to shop is mostly dead (in the US, not elsewhere), but people still go out to shop someplace and the new places will recover.

[toast0]

It is stupid, but every party involved benefits from playing by the stupid rules, so they keep doing it.

If the lender insists the property be valued based on actual collections rather than hypothetical collections based on the rate once discounts expire or the asking rate if vacant, then they will have a loan where the borrower is underwater and that's going to end up as a loss on the bank's books.

If the borrower values it factually, they will be underwater and likely have to sell for a loss or be forclosed on.

There's also portfolio effects. If rent drops are acknowledged in one space, nearby spaces may also acknowledge lowered rents and most banks have lots of loans and many borrowers manage several buildings.