A private lender reads dozens of files a week. The ones that get worked first are not the biggest — they are the clearest. If you place deals regularly, the way you package them is worth more to your close rate than almost anything else.
The one-paragraph summary
Open every submission with a short paragraph that answers five things: what the property is and where, what the borrower needs and in what position, what the property is worth and how you know, how the loan gets repaid, and by when it must close. An underwriter who can answer those five questions in fifteen seconds will read the rest of your file properly.
Key takeaways
- Lead with property, amount, value, exit and deadline — in that order, in one paragraph.
- Disclose the flaw yourself. A problem you raise is a condition; the same problem found in title is a credibility issue.
What to include
- Property address, type, and current condition or occupancy.
- Loan amount requested and lien position.
- Value support — recent comparable sales, a broker price opinion, or a prior appraisal, with its date (see how private lenders value a property).
- Borrower and entity: who is on title, what entity is borrowing, and whether the formation documents exist.
- The exit, with a timeline and a named route — sale, refinance, or completion and lease-up (see exit strategies for a bridge loan).
- Anything ugly, stated plainly. Prior default, an open permit, a partial entitlement, a tight deadline.
Protecting your relationship
The reasonable fear in broker referrals is disintermediation — sending a client to a lender and losing them. Ask directly how a lender handles it, and get the answer before the file goes over, not after.
Our own position: we pay among the highest commissions in the business, and on deals we work directly with your client we secure them for you — if they come back to us, they are referred back to you. We never sell your information or pass it to anyone for marketing. The referral form includes an explicit client-contact authorization step, so whether we speak to your client directly is your call, not ours.
Questions worth asking any private lender
- How quickly will you tell me no? A lender that declines fast is doing you a favor.
- What is your actual funding timeline on a clean file, and what most often breaks it?
- Who underwrites the file — the person I am speaking to, or a committee elsewhere?
- How is my commission documented and when is it paid?
- What happens to my client relationship after the loan closes?
Sending us a deal
Submit through the referral form — five short steps, any of the 50 states — and we confirm receipt and follow up within one business day. If you would rather talk it through first, call (800) 943-1314. For what happens after you submit, see how the broker referral process works.
Mistakes brokers make on first submissions
- Sending a folder of documents with no summary, so the underwriter has to work out what the deal is.
- Quoting a value from a listing price or a Zestimate-style estimate with no comparable sales behind it.
- Leaving the exit vague. “Refinance later” is not an exit until it says into what and why the property will qualify.
- Waiting to mention a title or entity issue until the lender finds it.
- Promising a closing date to the client before the lender has confirmed it is realistic.
Setting your client’s expectations
Tell the client what the lender needs and when, before they are asked. Clients who understand that a preliminary title report, entity documents and a valuation are coming tend to supply them quickly. Clients who learn about each request one at a time tend to stall. A short checklist sent on day one saves days later; our guide to the documents needed for a private money loan is a good starting point.
It also helps to be candid about price. A private loan costs more than a conventional loan, and a client who hears that from you at the start is more likely to stay with the deal than one surprised by the term sheet.
Common questions
How soon will I hear back on a deal?
We confirm receipt and follow up within one business day of a referral. If a deal is not a fit, we would rather say so quickly so you can place it elsewhere.
Can I submit a deal outside California?
Our referral form accepts submissions from brokers in any of the 50 states. Property and loan fit are assessed on the specific file.
What if my client wants to deal directly?
Ask the lender how it handles that before you send the file, and get the answer in writing if you can. Our practice is described above.
Published by the US Lending & Company underwriting desk. General information only — not legal, tax or investment advice.