When it comes to choosing from available commercial lenders, one of the most important things to consider is how much experience a lender has.

You have been working the same job for the last 15 years. You can pay the bills, keep food on the table, and take the occasional vacation (just nowhere too expensive). Life is good and comfortable, but it sure would be nice if it were better—right? Maybe if you were working for yourself rather than “punching the clock for the Man” it would be.

But opening your own business is a huge risk and take so much more than providing a service or product people want. Just the process—like when it is time to get a loan–involved with getting started can be overwhelming.

When it comes to commercial lenders, it may seem like a good idea to go with whoever offers you the best rates, but there is another, more important factor that should be considered—experience.

The Importance Of Experience Among Commercial Lender

The large nationwide company may be more familiar to you, and several people inside the building probably do have tons of experience. But chances are loans for small businesses are not serviced by the most experienced loan officers; or even the moderately experienced ones. So while the name on the building may give you a sense of comfort, the person you end up working with may not.

Yes, they probably must get whatever they do sign off on by a supervisor, but how much time does the supervisor spend reviewing every file his/her underlings produce?

When you look through the available commercial lenders in your area, don’t worry so much about the name on the door. Do your homework and see how much experience the person inside the door has.

Someone with experience and longevity in the industry can be a real asset for you. If the loan officer has been around for a while, then you can rest assured that they know what they are doing. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have lasted as long as they have.

With experience often comes knowledge. For someone just getting started in business, it helps to have someone on the lender’s side that knows what they are doing. That way you can receive some much-needed guidance on some of the financial do’s and don’ts. He/she doesn’t want you to risk going into default so they will likely do whatever they can to help—if they have the knowledge.

Experienced lenders are also less likely to waste your time. They will be able to tell pretty quickly what will work, what will not, and what can be salvaged with a little work. Wouldn’t it be great to know you are thinking is entirely off-base before you try to act on it and waste time and money?

An Experienced Lender Wants To Do Whatever It Takes To Close The Deal

Inexperienced commercial lenders want to close the deal as well, but if things get difficult or a roadblock appears, they may not know how to work around it or how to solve the issue. They don’t become experienced by giving up, but if they don’t know—they don’t know. Someone that has been around the block a few times will know how to get around an issue or work through it.

Dennis Dahlberg Broker/RI/CEO/MLO
Level 4 Funding LLC  Private Hard Money Lender
Arizona Tel:  (623) 582-4444
Texas Tel:      (512) 516-1177
Dennis@level4funding.com NMLS 1057378 | AZMB 0923961 | MLO 1057378
22601 N 19th Ave Suite 112 | Phoenix | AZ | 85027
111 Congress Ave |Austin | Texas | 78701
 
About the Author:  Dennis has been working in the real estate industry in some capacity for the last 40 years. He purchased his first property when he was just 18 years old. He quickly learned about the amazing investment opportunities provided by trust deed investing and hard money loans. His desire to help others make money in real estate investing led him to specialize in alternative funding for real estate investors who may have trouble getting a traditional bank loan. Dennis is passionate about alternative funding sources and sharing his knowledge with others to help make their dreams come true. Dennis has been married to his wonderful wife for 42 years. They have 2 beautiful daughters 5 amazing grandchildren. Dennis has been an Arizona resident for the past 40 years.