💡 Let the PFS tell you if you’re wasting your time with a borrower — their SREO may give you a clue.

Aug 14 • General

When you get a client’s 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗣𝗙𝗦), don’t just skim the numbers—go straight to the 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲.

One of the first things to check? 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵.

If they have no meaningful banking relationships, that’s a red flag—they may not have the experience for this project.

If they do have banking relationships, ask:

“𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹?”

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁:

✅ 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸:

“We’ve reached our lending limit with you.”

“We don’t have a program that fits this project.”

“We can’t take on more exposure in that property type right now.”

🚫 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀:

“They just said no” (with no explanation)

Anything vague or evasive

Reasons tied to serious credit issues, defaults, or foreclosures

I recently walked a new broker through this. They wanted to show me a deal, so I first ask for the PFS. I noticed three active banking relationships.

I told them:

“Ask if their current banks will do the deal. If yes—you’ve saved time and shown you’re looking out for their best interest. For a new client, that helps builds trust—you’re helping them take the path of least resistance, save money, and possibly avoid paying a commission.”

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻: The best kind of client is one who’s already knocked on several doors and can clearly explain why their own network can’t get it done—whether they’ve maxed their limit, the bank doesn’t have the right program, or exposure limits are tapped.

That’s when you know they’re truly 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 as a broker, not just using you as another 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆 to shop rates while you do the legwork.

And just as important—if their bank’s answer itself is a red flag, you can make an early call to drop the deal before investing more time and energy.

Success isn’t about working every inquiry—it’s about deciding when to act, when to pause, and when to move on.

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