What is a Master Servicer?
Since CMBS loans are pooled together, packaged into commercial mortgage backed securities, and sold to investors, they are not generally serviced by the lender that originated the loan. Instead, conduit loans are typically serviced by a third-party servicer, referred to as a master servicer.
What is a Special Servicer?
CMBS loans are pooled together, securitized and sold to investors on the secondary market. Therefore, they are not generally serviced by the original lender. Instead, they are generally serviced by a master servicer, a third-party company that handles payments and communicating with borrowers. However, if a CMBS loan goes into default, servicing will generally be switched to a special servicer, which will work to determine if the borrower can once again become current on their loan.