How to choose a private lender

Private lending marketing tends to converge on the same handful of promises - fast, flexible, assessed on security. Those claims are mostly true across the industry, which means they're not the thing that actually distinguishes one lender from another. The differences that matter show up in the fine print and in how a lender behaves once a deal gets complicated.

What actually varies between lenders

• How fees are structured - a flat monthly fee behaves very differently to a percentage-based one as loan size changes
• Whether a risk fee applies, and what specifically reduces it
• Discharge and early exit terms - the notice period and whether any break cost applies
• Who actually makes the credit decision, and how quickly they can be reached

Questions worth asking directly

A lender's answers to a few specific questions will tell you more than any amount of marketing copy. Ask what happens if the exit is delayed, whether the quoted rate is genuinely achievable for your deal or a best-case headline figure, and whether you'll be dealing with the same person from enquiry through to settlement.

The lender worth choosing is the one that tells you clearly what your deal won't qualify for, not just the one that says yes fastest.

Red flags worth taking seriously

Be cautious of a lender that won't put fees in writing before you apply, that's vague about who holds the funds and how settlement actually happens, or that pushes you toward a larger loan than the deal requires. A private lender should be able to explain, in plain terms, exactly how your specific deal is priced and why.

Every reputable private lender will sound broadly similar in a first conversation. The way to tell them apart is to ask the specific questions their marketing doesn't answer, and see how directly they respond.