Each private-lending product leans on a different part of your system. Here is what to check before your product mix outgrows your tools.
Most private lenders start with one product and add others as borrowers ask for them. The software that handled the first product well often struggles with the third, because each loan type leans on a different part of the system.
Bridge loans lean on speed
A bridge loan is judged on how fast it closes. The parts of the system that matter most are intake, the term sheet and the conditions list. If an officer has to copy borrower details from an email into a spreadsheet and then into a document template, every bridge deal pays for it in days.
Fix and flip loans lean on draws
A fix and flip loan funds the purchase and then funds the rehab in stages. That means a budget, a draw schedule and an inspection before each release. Software that treats a loan as finished at closing leaves the draw work in a separate spreadsheet, where it drifts away from the loan it belongs to.
Ground up construction leans on milestones
New construction stretches the draw problem over a longer project. Look for budget-to-actual tracking per line, inspection reports filed against the milestone they cover, and a clear record of what has been released and what remains.
DSCR loans lean on the numbers
A DSCR loan qualifies on the property's rent against its debt service. The system should calculate the coverage ratio from the rent roll and the proposed terms, and show the inputs, so an underwriter can see why a loan passed or failed.
What to ask before you add a product
- Can the new product have its own stages, conditions and documents?
- Does servicing pick up the loan without anyone retyping it?
- Can you report on each product separately?
If the answer to any of these is no, the product will work, but your team will be doing the system's job by hand.