A new education platform aimed at helping residential mortgage professionals enter the commercial lending space is officially live.
The Academy for Commercial Lending has launched with a suite of online, self-paced courses designed for mortgage brokers, real estate professionals, and lenders looking to originate and structure commercial loans.
Founded by Michael Boggiano, a CPA and commercial real estate finance veteran with 35 years of experience, the platform positions itself as a more practical alternative to traditional commercial lending education.
Filling A Longstanding Gap In Commercial Training
According to the company, the Academy was created to address a persistent barrier for residential originators: limited access to actionable, real-world commercial lending training.
“I have been in this business for 35 years and I still run into brokers who want to do commercial deals but do not know where to start,” Boggiano said. “The training that exists is either too expensive or it is not built by people who have actually sat across the table from a borrower or a credit committee.”
The coursework is designed to reflect how commercial lending actually works — from underwriting and deal structuring to how lenders evaluate transactions — rather than focusing on theory alone.
Built By Practitioners, For Working LOs
Boggiano is joined by a team with deep industry experience, including Art Swiatkowski, who has more than 40 years of experience training commercial lending professionals, and Enrique Gomez, a 30-year industry veteran focused on credit analysis and loan structuring.
Combined, the leadership team brings more than 95 years of real-world experience into the curriculum.
Courses Focus On Deal Execution
The platform launched with two initial offerings:
- Commercial Lending Foundations — a complimentary introductory course for new members
- Commercial Lending Accelerator — a more advanced program focused on originating and structuring deals
Additional coursework is in development.
Topics covered include commercial underwriting fundamentals, DSCR lending, SBA financing, multifamily lending, bridge lending, and practical deal structuring concepts.
Launch Tied To Industry Event
The Academy marked its debut by sponsoring “The Forum,” a commercial lending panel track at the Southeast Real Estate Expo held May 6 in Greenville, South Carolina.
“These are real practitioners talking about real deals, and that is what the Academy is,” Boggiano said. “It is not a seminar or a sales pitch. It is a platform built by people who are still in the market.”
Why It Matters
As more residential LOs look to diversify amid rate volatility and shifting refinance demand, commercial lending has become an increasingly attractive — but often hard-to-access — channel.
Platforms like the Academy for Commercial Lending are aiming to lower that barrier, offering structured pathways for brokers to expand into new product types and revenue streams without leaving their existing business.
Enrollment for current courses is now open, with additional content expected to roll out in the coming months.
