As the holidays approach, families across the country will be preparing delicious meals and baked goods to celebrate. For brokers, this is the time of year to cook up great small-balance commercial mortgage deals to close out 2016 with a bang and to start 2017 on a positive note.

Here are some tips to get you going:

Do your shopping.

Before anybody can begin preparing food they need to shop for what they need. Likewise, brokers need to seek out small-balance commercial mortgage leads and referral sources, as well as lenders who can fund these types of deals. Make sure you understand a lender’s guidelines before you submit a loan request.

Collect the right ingredients.

Just like chefs need to assemble what they need before they can start cooking, brokers need to gather up the right documents before submitting a small-balance commercial mortgage request. You’ll need a completed 1003 or commercial mortgage application, a tri-merge credit report, a loan submission summary detailing the purpose of the mortgage and photos of the property. Be sure to ask your lender if any additional paperwork is required.

Know when to improvise.

Accomplished chefs and bakers know how to make small adjustments to recipes for maximum impact. As a commercial mortgage broker, you’ll need to learn to anticipate borrower issues throughout the lending process and to make changes to help your lender solve those problems.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Because the small-balance commercial mortgage industry isn’t regulated in the same way as the residential side, commercial brokers can enjoy larger commissions than their residential counterparts. For example, APEX will allow our brokers to charge up to 5 points per deal, including 2 YSP.

Like cooking and baking, small-balance commercial mortgages depend on brokers who know how to prepare and execute a request for financing properly. By seeking out the right loan scenarios and lenders, assembling the necessary documents and understanding how to overcome obstacles, you can succeed as a broker and earn additional income.

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