How to Package a Private Money Loan Submission That Gets Answers

Why the package matters more than the pitch

A loan officer or underwriter looking at your file is trying to answer a handful of questions in a short window of time. What is the deal? Who is the borrower? Where does the money come from? What is the plan, and how do we get paid back? Every missing document is a question that stays open, and open questions slow a file down or end it.

Most delays on private money loans are not about the deal being weak. They are about someone waiting two weeks for a bank statement page, an LLC document with the wrong member listed, or a budget that does not add up to the purchase price and rehab on the contract. Sending a clean package up front means the first call you get is about terms, not about what is missing.

Think of the package as a sales tool and a risk document at once. It shows the lender you are organized and that you respect their time. It also shows how you will run the project, because someone who submits a sloppy file usually runs a sloppy rehab.

The one-sheet narrative: tell the deal in one page

Start with a single page that someone can read in two minutes. Include the property address and type, the purchase price, the planned rehab or construction budget, the after-repair value and how you arrived at it, the loan amount requested, your cash in, the exit strategy, and a short paragraph about your experience. Plain language beats hype every time.

Be honest about weak points. If the rehab is heavy, say so and explain how your contractor is handling it. If your last three projects took longer than planned, explain why and what changed. Underwriters find these things anyway, and a borrower who raises an issue first earns credibility. A narrative that reads like an advertisement tends to get a closer look than one that reads like a plan.

Attach comparable sales to support the after-repair value, with a sentence on why each comp is a fair match. You do not need a stack of listings. Three to five solid comps that match on size, style, condition and location will do more than twenty loose ones.

The core document checklist

Below is the set of documents most private and hard money lenders ask for on an investor loan. Not every lender asks for every item, and some will ask for more, but if you have everything on this list ready in clean PDFs, you are ahead of most submissions. Name the files clearly so the reviewer can find them.

Bank statements deserve special attention. Send all pages of the last two months for each account that supports your cash to close and reserves, including the pages that look blank or contain only fine print. Missing pages are one of the most common reasons a file gets kicked back. If a large deposit shows up, include a short explanation and a source document, since underwriters need to know where funds came from.

The real estate owned schedule and the two budgets are where the lender sees your experience and your plan. Treat them as seriously as the contract. Our separate guide covers building the schedule in detail.

• One-sheet narrative of the deal and your plan
• Executed purchase contract with all addenda
• Government-issued photo ID for each guarantor
• Two months of bank statements, all pages, for each account used for cash and reserves
• Real estate owned schedule covering the last three years of purchases and sales
• Cost and rehab budget, line by line
• Draw and spend-to-date budget if work has started
• Completed loan application
• Appraisal and title preliminary report, if you already have them
• Signed credit and background authorization
• LLC formation documents and any good standing certificate
• Operating or partnership agreement
• EIN letter and the LLC bank account information

Budgets that actually add up

Lenders read the rehab budget looking for realism. A line that says Kitchen, $40,000 tells them very little. A line that breaks out cabinets, counters, appliances, plumbing, electrical and labor tells them you have scoped the work. If you have bids from contractors, attach them. If you are doing the work yourself, say so, and be prepared to explain your experience and how you will value your own labor.

Run a simple tie-out before you send anything. If the purchase price is $200,000, the rehab budget is $60,000, closing costs and interest carry are estimated at $20,000, and your after-repair value is $330,000, then your total cost is about $280,000 and the projected margin before selling costs is about $50,000. A reviewer will do this math in thirty seconds. If your numbers do not match what is in your narrative and contract, expect a call or a decline.

If the project has already started, send the spend-to-date budget alongside the original. It should show what has been spent, what remains, and where you stand against the plan. Include receipts or invoices where possible. Lenders funding a refinance or a rehab in progress want proof that money has gone into the property and that the work completed matches the spend.

Entity documents: the part everyone forgets

If you are borrowing through an LLC, the lender must confirm the entity exists, who owns it, and who can sign. That is why you will be asked for the formation documents, the operating or partnership agreement, the EIN letter, and the bank account information for the LLC. The names and ownership percentages across those documents should match each other and match what you wrote on the application.

The common problems are simple. The operating agreement lists a member who is no longer involved. The EIN letter names an older entity. The bank account is in the owner's personal name instead of the LLC. The file says one thing and the paperwork says another. Fix these before you submit, and if you are unsure about how your entity should be set up, talk to a licensed attorney and a CPA. A broker or lender cannot give you that advice.

If there are multiple owners, expect each person with a meaningful stake to sign the credit authorization and be considered as a guarantor. Settle that with your partners before the file goes out. Surprise partners show up late in the process and often cause the biggest delays.

Final check before you hit send

Open every file and look at it. Is the scan readable? Are all pages present? Is the contract fully signed and dated? Is the ID unexpired? It takes ten minutes and prevents days of back and forth. Use a consistent file naming pattern such as Purchase Contract, ID Smith, Bank Statements Month 1, so a reviewer does not have to guess.

Send everything in one organized email or upload, with the one-sheet first. State the closing date or contract deadline in the first line so the lender knows how urgent the file is. Then respond quickly to any follow-up. Speed on your side is the cheapest way to speed up the whole process.

Finally, be ready to adjust. A lender may suggest a different loan amount, a different structure or a different timeline. That is a normal part of the process, and a clean package gives you the standing to negotiate it.