Dealing with Private Lenders

collaboration - broker lessons in dealing with private lenders

This week we look at collaboration with private lenders from a broker’s perspective.

Collaboration in our world involves managing a diversity of expectations in the chain between borrowers and investors. The roles of the broker and private lender, and the relationship between them, are crucial in achieving a smooth process.

Rather than relate the benefits of strong collaboration from Semper’s perspective we asked Brett Martin, Managing Director at TLR Finance in Melbourne. Brett is a long-established finance and mortgage broker who provides a wide array of solutions and all forms of finance. Brett knows how to identify an opportunity requiring a private lending solution, package it up and present it with supporting documents so it gets through due diligence to draw down, quickly.

“We get emails and phone calls every week from new private lenders touting for business”, said Brett, “and the first priority is to identify if the caller really is a lender, with credit-decision capabilities and funds available under their control.”

To Brett, an important part of the process involves explaining to a borrower why they are a private loan client and preparing them for the fee structure and rates.

“Many borrowers don’t understand why they are not bank fundable. My responsibility is to explain how they have an issue to resolve first, like settle an outstanding tax debt or to build up serviceability and how these are things private lenders understand.”

Here’s Brett’s key points for other brokers seeking private credit:

  • Have a good understanding of a lender’s credit policies and risk appetite (security type, LVR, loan sum, term etc);
  • Have direct phone access to a decision maker so you can discuss high-level indicative terms and get accurate rates and fees early;
  • Make sure to negotiate reasonable upfront fees to accept an offer and to get the file moving;
  • Wherever possible, minimise the a drip-feed approach to document requests, get them in one go;
  • Insist on continued BDM involvement after loan docs are delivered to assist with conditions precedent requirements that may not suit every applicant or with policy exceptions that were granted during credit assessment but sometimes get missed.

“The best lenders are those who can set rates quickly, with only pertinent information, and who don’t have to change terms part-way through. Semper is one of those”.

Brett is an excellent resource for anyone with a commercial opportunity which doesn’t fit mainstream lenders and would like help getting it funded. See TLR Finance.

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Commercial lending

Semper is a leading non-bank lender specialising in property-secured loans to businesses in any industry with loan sums from $250K – $30M 1st and 2nd mortgages Australia-wide up to a maximum LVR of 80%.

Semper offers a wide range of flexible products tailored specifically for you. We specialise in all your short-term and bridging finance needs.

We don’t do loans the banks won’t, but assist when the banks can’t, usually due to timing or circumstance.

COMMON LOAN USES

Rapid property acquisition pending alternate finance;
Managing cash-flow challenges, such as:
  • Tax liabilities and ATO debt
  • Replacement finance or deleverage from an existing lender
  • Pre-insolvency issues/ release from administration and turnaround
  • Creditor payments
  • Release of equity
  • Debt refinancing
  • Seasonal trends
  • Business emergencies

CAPITALISING ON AN UNEXPECTED OPPORTUNITY

  • Bridging the gap between sale and purchase (residential or commercial)
  • Rapid drawdown and equity release
  • Buying a business
  • Meeting the capital needs of a growing business
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