The following is a transcription of the most recent video in our Ask APEX series on YouTube.

I’ve been asked several times over the last 60 days by many brokers, “How do I select a lender that I can count on?” It’s a great challenge with all the start-ups and rebirths in the marketplace. Selecting a lender is critical for the broker who is helping customers find the financing they need. You’ve got to do your homework and you’ve got to select the right lender.

So, here are my tips for how to select the correct lender:

• First, select a lender that’s been in the marketplace for a long time.
• Start-ups and rebirths should concern you. Find a lender that’s been doing this – and has had a solid reputation – for years and years.
• Work with a lender that has ownership of their loans.
• Balance-sheet lenders care about you and their customer because you become part of each other for many, many years. Find out more about how a small-balance commercial mortgage lender like APEX Mortgage can help you get a borrower financing for a unique property.
• You also want to make sure that you’ve selected a lender that doesn’t change their programs every other day.
• Lenders that are subject to the whims of their financing sources have no choice but to change their programs regularly and dramatically. For 26 years, our programs have basically been unchanged. We’ve added, we’ve enhanced, but we’ve never left customers or brokers high and dry.
• Make sure you know the people on the other end of the phone. When selecting a lender, make sure you can talk not only to your salesperson, but to the underwriter, to the senior underwriter and to senior management. That availability of the upper echelon is going to mean that someone’s going to listen to you and someone’s going to care. Read our previous post on how to work with the underwriter to get your borrower a commercial mortgage.
• Most importantly, realize that the best deal is not always the cheapest.
• Sometimes you have to weigh in considerations on term, prepayment penalty, stability and the confidence that you have that your lender will deliver on the terms that they have quoted you.
• Finally, if you’re looking for a small-balance commercial lender, look no further than APEX Mortgage.
• For 26 years, we’ve been in the marketplace catering exclusively to small-balance borrowers. We understand your needs as their broker, we understand the importance of your referral network, and we understand the needs and desires of small business owners.

Remember, small-balance commercial lending is a specialty, and when it comes to finding the right lender you want consistency and you want commitment. At APEX Mortgage, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Firstrust Bank for over 16 years, we’re all that and more. Thank you and have a great day.

For more information about APEX Mortgage Corp., call 800-262-2739 or contact us online.

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