The swimming and track relays are some of the most exciting events of the Summer Olympics. Every four years, a team of athletes puts their training to the test to go for the gold, relying on drive, endurance and teamwork to make their home country proud. Like these athletes, commercial mortgage brokers must rely on their skills to draw in leads and must cooperate with their lenders in order to reach their finish line: the closing table.

Here’s how commercial brokers can win their relay race and close more loans:

Lap 1: Application and approval.

Whether you’re competing in a relay race or submitting a commercial mortgage application, it’s incredibly important to start off strong. Relay teams always employ one of their strongest swimmers or runners in an effort to gain the lead over competing teams. As a broker, you need to focus on presenting your borrower in the strongest light in order to provide them with the best possible financing options.  This means submitting a completed 1003 or application, a tri-merge credit report, a loan submission summary and pictures of the property. Be sure to discuss with your lender ahead of time if they will need additional documentation.

Lap 2: Selling the deal.

In relays, a successful transition is crucial to success. Once your lender’s underwriting team has approved the deal and provided you with terms, it’s up to you to sell your borrower on the commercial mortgage. This can be more difficult with non-conforming borrowers, but as long as you prepare your borrower for the kind of loan they can expect from the beginning and focus on the positives of the terms, the second lap of the lending process should be a breeze.

Lap 3: Processing.

Once your borrower accepts the terms of the commercial mortgage and elects to move forward, another transition takes place, this time to your lender’s processing team. At this point in the process, it’s generally best for brokers to be available should any problems arise or if any additional documents are needed. The processing department will handle the rest.

Lap 4: Closing.

The dream for any relay team is that by the time the fourth member of the team, or anchor, is up, the three preceding athletes have done their job and given them a sizeable lead to work with. This should also be the case when it comes to brokering commercial mortgages. By the time your borrower reaches the closing table, every issue should be resolved. To this end, remember to cooperate fully with your lender whenever they require your assistance.

Like relay races, closing commercial mortgages is a team sport. It’s important for commercial mortgage brokers to develop their skills and to work in conjunction with their lenders to get these loans closed as fast as possible. And, if everyone does their job, you’ll get the gold.

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