Every broker eventually meets the deal that's good but not bankable: strong security, sensible purpose, credible client — and a decline, a timeline, or a policy quirk that mainstream lenders can't get past. Those deals don't have to die in your pipeline. Placed well, they settle privately, your client is looked after, and you've solved a problem the client will remember. Here's how experienced brokers work with private lenders — and how to avoid the mistakes that stall submissions.
When private is the right call
Private lending isn't a consolation prize; it's the correct tool for a specific set of scenarios:
- Timeline kills the bank option: auction settlements, expiring finance clauses, ATO deadlines, or a discharge that must happen before a bank could complete assessment
- Policy declines on otherwise strong deals: impaired credit, unresolved tax debt, minimal or outdated financials, unusual security, or complex entity structures
- Business-purpose equity release that consumer credit policy can't accommodate
- Short-duration needs — bridging, completion funding, working capital with a defined exit — where a 30-year product is the wrong shape entirely
The unifying thread: real property security and a genuine exit. If the deal has both, it's placeable.
What a strong submission looks like
Private lenders assess deals, not application forms. The submissions that get same-day attention answer five questions on one page:
- Security: address, property type, estimated value and the basis for it, and current debt against it
- Ask: amount and preferred structure (1st, 2nd, or caveat)
- Purpose: what the funds do, in plain commercial terms
- Exit: how and when the loan repays — sale, refinance, receivable, or cash event, with a realistic date
- The story: two or three sentences of honest context, including anything adverse. Surprises discovered later cost more than disclosures made upfront — in both pricing and trust.
That's genuinely all that's needed for an indicative answer within 24 hours. Supporting documents — title, rates notice, valuations, payout figures — come next, not first.
How deals are priced
Private pricing follows risk in a way brokers can predict: security position (first mortgages price below seconds and caveats), loan-to-value ratio, quality and liquidity of the security property, term, and the strength of the exit. A clean exit and conservative LVR does more for your client's rate than any negotiation tactic. Fees and terms are disclosed upfront in the letter of offer — the deal your client sees is the deal that settles.
Your client relationship is protected
Brokers introduce us to a client once and worry, understandably, about who owns the relationship. Simply: you do. Repeat business, refinances, and future transactions route back through the introducing broker, and brokers are remunerated on settled loans. Private lending done properly makes brokers money on the deals their aggregator panel can't write — it doesn't compete for the ones it can.
The three things that stall private deals
- An undefined exit. "They'll refinance eventually" isn't an exit. A named path with a realistic date is.
- Valuation surprises. Test the client's value estimate against comparable sales before submitting; an ambitious number that gets cut at valuation reshapes the whole deal late.
- Buried adverse history. Defaults, ATO arrears, and litigation are all workable when disclosed on day one — and deal-threatening when they surface at settlement.
Test us with a scenario
The fastest way to calibrate a private lender is to workshop a live scenario. Call with the security, the ask, and the exit — you'll get a straight answer on appetite and indicative terms within 24 hours, and urgent settlements are accommodated when your client's deadline demands it.