If the current coronavirus (COVID-19) situation persists, real estate lenders increasingly will be faced with the need to restructure loans in their portfolios. Lenders that held non-performing real estate loans during prior real estate downturns (e.g., 2008, 1990s) have no doubt embarked on the real estate workout process countless times before. However, with the passage of time, the lessons learned by real estate lenders of earlier eras may have faded from memory. Moreover, many of the lenders active in real estate finance today were not even on the scene during prior recessions. Accordingly, it may be best to go back to the basics–to return to general guidelines on how best to approach a problem real estate loan.

For those without prior experience, and even for those who have survived the workout wars of earlier generations but who have not yet drawn up a general roadmap for handling their troubled real estate loans today, here are seven rules on how to minimize the bumps in the road on the next real estate workout journey.

The following gallery, adapted from a longer piece, outlines seven rules for lenders navigating workouts during uncertain times.