A non-recourse loan is a loan secured only by the property, so the lender can’t pursue the borrower’s other assets beyond standard carve-outs.
In a non-recourse loan the property and its income are the main collateral. If the loan defaults, the lender can take the property but generally cannot go after the borrower's other assets. There are usually exceptions, known as carve-outs, for things like fraud, misapplication of funds, or environmental claims, which can create personal liability. Non-recourse financing is common with CMBS and with strong-credit NNN properties, and the borrower is usually required to hold the property in a single-purpose entity.