I got roasted by a loan officer and it changed how I structure deals now

So I was pitching this small apartment complex in Austin, thought I had it all figured out with a 75% LTV request. The loan officer basically told me my debt service coverage ratio was garbage because I was counting pro forma rents that hadn't even hit yet. He said something like "you're banking on magic numbers and that's how people lose their shirts." I pulled the deal and restructured it with a lower leverage point around 65% and used actual trailing 12 month income instead of projections. The loan ended up closing but way smaller than I wanted. Now I'm wondering if I should always be conservative upfront or if there's a middle ground where you can still push for higher leverage without getting laughed out of the room. Has anyone else had a lender call them out on unrealistic numbers and had to totally rethink their underwriting style?

2 comments

2 Comments

alice_wilson732d ago

Is it really that big of a deal though? You got called out for using made-up numbers, fixed it, and still closed. Sounds like you dodged a bullet more than you got roasted.

the_wade4d ago

I mean, is it really that big of a deal? You learned to check your numbers better and you still closed the deal. That loan officer did his job and you got a loan. Feels like a win to me, not some life changing moment. People get too caught up in the drama of being "called out" like it's some kind of personal insult. Half the time these lenders see five deals a day that are way worse than what you brought them. You did fine. Next time just run your numbers a little tighter and move on.