Mortgage brokers know that if they do not close the loan, they will not get paid. Given that today's fussy lenders have made it harder than ever to get a deal to the closing table, many loan brokers have turned to alternative lending sources. Private money lenders are extremely popular options for many different reasons:

• Fast closings. A private lender can easily bring a deal from application to closing in two weeks or less. 

• Flexible underwriting. While banks are seemingly in the business of not making loans, mortgage brokers know that private lenders want to lend money. To achieve this goal, they will look at the story of a deal to find the value in it, instead of just walking away from a loan with valuable collateral simply because it does not meet an arbitrary debt service coverage ratio.

• Reasonable pricing. Private money may cost a little bit more than a traditional bank loan, but for deals that need it, the cost of the loan pales compared to the cost of not doing the deal at all. Savvy mortgage brokers also know that since private loans are usually short-term, they will have the opportunity to write a second, permanent, loan in the future. This not only serves their clients' interests, but also earns them two commissions.

• Deal-based qualification. Typically, a buyer must be well qualified to obtain a private loan. However, private lenders have the flexibility to occasionally look past a blemish on a buyer's credit record that would automatically disqualify them from bank financing. Given that this type of financing usually requires a sizable down payment, lenders can count on the security inherent in the transaction to protect them even with an imperfect borrower.

These are just a few of the reasons that leading mortgage brokers include private lenders as a significant resource in their portfolio of lending solutions. If you have not yet learned about the private money market, you are missing out on opportunities to help your clients close deals.