In the memorable words of David Clayton-Thomas, “What goes up must come down.” Fortunately for the commercial real estate lending business, that maxim also works in reverse. Industry experts now generally agree that the fundamentals of the commercial real estate market are stabilizing and improving. Commercial real estate lenders have in large measure reopened for business and new start-ups have emerged to fill the void left by those that have exited the market. But the enthusiasm for new loan origination should be tempered with more than a measure of circumspection. Before diving into new transactions, lenders should refamiliarize themselves with the lessons learned from the recent downturn. We offer the following as a list of the “Top 10” such lessons.

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