Broker requirements
Know which Zendra path fits before you package the file.
Use this as a first-pass guide for private-money fund deals and institutional routes, including DSCR when the file is rental or stabilized. The goal is to help brokers understand what matters, what slows a file down, and what to send next.
Two clean lanes
This is guidance for fit and packaging. Final structure, leverage, rate, points, and conditions are subject to Zendra underwriting and complete documentation.
Flexible capital
Private money fund requirements
This is the best first look for fix-and-flip and bridge deals that need speed, creativity, or a lender willing to understand the story behind the file.
What usually fits
- Business-purpose, non-owner-occupied investment property
- Fix-and-flip or bridge scenario where speed, structure, or judgment matters
- Clear collateral story: purchase/current value, rehab plan when applicable, and realistic ARV support
- Borrower experience or a credible operator/contractor plan for heavier rehabs
- Exit strategy that can be explained in plain language
What slows it down
- Owner occupancy or consumer-purpose use
- Unsupported ARV, vague scope, or no contractor plan on a meaningful rehab
- High leverage with weak borrower support
- Unclear payoff/refi/sale path
Sharper pricing
Institutional route requirements
This lane is useful when the borrower is rate-sensitive and the file is clean enough to support a more standardized execution. DSCR belongs here when rental income, expenses, reserves, and hold strategy support the loan.
What usually fits
- Cleaner leverage and a borrower profile that supports tighter underwriting
- Strong documentation package with fewer exceptions
- Rate-sensitive borrower who can trade some flexibility for sharper pricing
- DSCR or stabilized rental files where income, reserves, credit, and property quality support the loan
- Rent, expenses, lease status, and hold strategy available when the deal is DSCR-driven
- Property, title, entity, insurance, valuation, and borrower docs ready to review
- Timeline that can support a more standardized process
What pushes it back to private money
- Files that need major creativity or exception-heavy structuring
- Heavy rehab or value-add plans that are really private-money bridge scenarios
- Thin documentation or unresolved property/title questions
- Insufficient rent support, vacancy, lease complexity, or missing reserve picture on DSCR files
- Urgent timelines where speed matters more than lowest rate
- Borrower profile or collateral issues that require a private-credit discussion
Compare paths
The same deal can point to different capital depending on the borrower priority.
| Question | Private money fund | Institutional route |
|---|---|---|
| Best use | Speed, flexibility, creative fix-and-flip or bridge structure | Cleaner files, sharper pricing, DSCR loans, and stabilized rental hold strategies |
| Flexibility | Highest | Lower for bridge/fix-and-flip; DSCR follows cash-flow and guideline requirements |
| Key sizing focus | LTC, LTV/ARV, rehab plan, borrower support, exit | Leverage, documentation, property quality, borrower strength; DSCR adds rent, expenses, reserves, and cash flow |
| Liquidity | Helpful, but not a first-pass blocker for many fix-and-flip scenarios | Important, especially for DSCR and reserve requirements |
| Best broker action | Send the story and the numbers early | Package clean docs, pricing priorities, and DSCR rent/expense detail when applicable |
Minimum deal data
- Loan type
- Property address
- Purchase price or current value
- Requested loan amount
- Rehab budget and ARV when applicable
- Borrower credit score and completed project count
- Exit strategy
- Timeline and any unusual notes
Core docs to expect
- Purchase contract or payoff statement
- Scope of work and photos for rehab deals
- Comps or ARV support when ARV drives sizing
- Borrower entity docs
- Insurance
- Proof of liquidity when the route requires it
- Credit/background authorization when moving into underwriting
Next step