Private lending deal checklist

What is needed at scenario stage?

• Loan amount and purpose. One number, one sentence on what the money is for.
• Security. Address(es), property type, indication of value, ownership entity.
• Requested term. How long the borrower expects to need the facility.
• Exit. Sale of the security, refinance to a bank, sale of another asset, business event, or other.
• Sponsor brief. One line on who the borrower is and what they do.

That is enough to scope the file and come back with indicative terms.

What is needed at formal application?

Borrower

• Identification per AML/CTF requirements (drivers licence, passport, Medicare card combinations).
• Entity documents if the borrower is a company or trust: ACN/ABN, trust deed if applicable, directors' consent.
• Personal guarantee declarations from directors on owner-managed business files.

Security

• Title search (current rates notice will often substitute early).
• Recent valuation if available; otherwise sufficient description to instruct valuation.
• Lease documents if the security is tenanted commercial.
• Strata documents if the security is an apartment, unit or strata commercial.
• On second-mortgage files: existing first-mortgage statement of position and any documentation requiring consent.

Financials (proportional to file size)

• Recent BAS lodgements for self-employed borrowers.
• Management accounts (year-to-date P&L and balance sheet) for business borrowers.
• Tax returns and ASIC searches on larger commercial and development files.
• Bank statements where the file relies on documented cashflow.

Exit evidence

• Contract of sale, marketing campaign and agent details if exit is sale.
• Refinance pre-approval letter or scoping document if exit is bank refinance.
• Construction takeout pre-approval if exit is development takeout.
• Other documented business event with supporting documents.

Development files (additional)

• Sponsor CV with comparable delivery history.
• QS-prepared feasibility and cost plan.
• Planning status, DA approval (or pathway to it).
• Presale evidence: contracts, deposit confirmations, agent marketing report.

Frequently asked

• Why does a deal checklist matter?
  Because the single largest cause of timeline slippage is documents requested back from credit after submission. A file that arrives with the basics covered moves; a file that arrives partial cycles back and loses days.
• Is every item on the checklist needed at scenario stage?
  No. Scenario stage needs the five core lines. The full checklist applies at formal application, once the indicative terms are accepted and the file moves forward.
• What if some items are unavailable?
  Submit anyway and flag what is missing. Credit can often start the assessment with a partial pack if the gaps are known and a plan to close them is in place. A note saying "valuation being instructed" is more useful than silence.
• Do small files need everything on the checklist?
  No. Shorter-dated and smaller files often run on a lighter document set. The checklist is exhaustive; not every item applies to every file. The broker BDM will say what is realistically needed for a specific scenario.
• Are accountant-signed documents required?
  On larger commercial and development files, often yes. On smaller short-dated files, usually no. Where management accounts are sufficient, that is what credit will ask for.