Making the shift from broker to private lender

As a broker, you live and die on the deals that you can strike with a lender – but what if you turned that dynamic around, and took on the role of the lender?

As a broker, you live and die on the deals that you can strike with a lender – but what if you turned that dynamic around, and took on the role of the lender?

“You would be the ultimate decision maker for the transactions,” says A.JU. Poulin, vice president of sales for The Mortgage Office. “Instead of getting a referral fee, you would get paid recurring revenue on each loan every month until it was paid off.”

It is an option that has appeal for brokers, but there is that one sticking point – having the private liquidity to fund private deals.

According to Poulin, there are a few easy steps to make that transition, from lending some of your own capital, to involving family and friends to participate as investors, and of course the due diligence and licensing and administration that comes with being a private lender.

“Once you do this,” says Poulin, “you’ll be in the driver’s seat.”

Brokers have a unique perspective already on private lending risk tolerance, which does facilitate the transition to the lending role.

“Knowing a private lender’s motivation and the amount of risk he is prepared to take will help you,” David O’Gorman, broker/owner of MortgageLand Inc. told MortgageBrokerNews about the relationship between broker and private lender. “A good borrower-lender fit at the very beginning will help lessen the possibility of problems down the line.”

And armed with this knowledge, brokers can succeed in what has been a growing market.

“I think we’re offering products that are very important to the Canadian consumer,” Jim Dunbar, officer/director of Affirm Financial, told MBN. “I think it is a very unique kind of market, and for traditional lenders, it is a difficult market to try and get into – but a terrific opportunity.”