Anyone with a phone and a list of lenders can call themselves a commercial loan broker. The label tells you nothing about how they actually work, who pays them, or whether they have any business representing your deal. The difference between a capital advisor who makes one qualified introduction and a deal-shopper who blasts your file to a dozen lenders shows up fast, if you ask the right questions on the first call. Here are the five that matter, with the good answers and the red flags side-by-side.
1Why These Five Questions, In This Order
Every question below is designed to surface a structural choice the broker has already made about how they run their business. The answers aren't opinions. They're disclosures. A capital advisor who has thought carefully about lender relationships, compensation, and process will have clean, specific answers ready. Someone who hasn't will hedge, change the subject, or describe the question itself as 'unusual.' Treat that as a signal.
For a deeper read on the structural difference between a transactional broker and a capital advisor, see our pillar guide on loan brokers vs capital advisors. The five questions below are the operational test.
2Question 1: How many lenders do you submit my deal to simultaneously?
Good answer
"We make one qualified introduction. Before we shop the deal anywhere, we screen it internally against the criteria of a specific lender we already know wants this profile, geography, asset class, leverage point, sponsor experience. If it doesn't fit, we tell you what would need to change before submitting."
Red-flag answer
"We shop to 5–10 lenders to maximize response rate." Or: "We send it everywhere and let the lenders compete." That's not advisory. It's a mass mailing. Lenders see the same package coming in from multiple brokers, the file gets stale, and term-sheet competition gets replaced by term-sheet fatigue. By the time a lender wants to underwrite, they've already discounted the deal because they assume someone else passed.
3Question 2: Are you paid by the borrower, the lender, or both, and does the answer change based on which lender closes the deal?
Good answer
"Lender-paid-at-closing on most products, with borrower-paid only on a narrow set, institutional CMBS being the main example, where market norms require a borrower-paid advisory fee. We disclose the structure on every product upfront and we don't collect fees that aren't tied to closing."
Red-flag answer
"It depends on the deal." Or: "We collect a retainer upfront and then take a fee at closing." Or vague references to 'commitment fees' or 'underwriting deposits' that aren't fully refundable if the deal doesn't close. The rule of thumb: if any meaningful payment comes out of your pocket before a lender has issued a real term sheet, the broker has economic reasons to keep your deal alive that have nothing to do with whether it should close.
4Question 3: What loan types have you closed in the last 12 months?
Good answer
Specific recent closings across multiple categories, for example: CMBS, bridge, hotel refi, DSCR rental, B2B factoring/ABL, partner buyouts. Loan size ranges, geography, and a quick word on what each type's underwriting process looked like. A capital advisor who has actually placed deals across the full commercial product set can move between products as your needs change without referring you out.
Red-flag answer
A single product specialty ("we do CMBS") in a year where you might also need a bridge takeout or an asset-based working-capital line. Or vague answers ("we close lots of deals, every type") without any specifics about the last few. Or, worse, defensiveness about being asked.
5Question 4: What lender-specific data can you show me on loan volumes for my industry, NAICS code, or franchise brand?
Good answer
Real, demonstrable data. Lender approval percentages by sector. Average and median loan sizes by NAICS code. Default and chargeoff rates for the specific industry the borrower is in. The advisor pulls up actual numbers on the call or sends a one-page sector snapshot. That data is the only meaningful basis for choosing one lender over another, and the only way to give a borrower a realistic expectation on rate, leverage, and timeline.
Red-flag answer
"We have great relationships, just trust us." Or: "Every lender is different, you can't really compare." Or stories about long-standing personal friendships at lenders without any underlying performance data. Relationships matter, but they don't substitute for numbers, and an advisor who can't quantify their lender book is one who hasn't built one rigorously.
6Question 5: If my deal doesn't close with the first lender you introduce, what happens?
Good answer
"We re-evaluate fit. If the first lender passed for a structural reason, we identify a different match in our network where the same reason isn't a deal-killer. If the deal needs to be restructured before any lender will fund it, we tell you that, and we don't keep submitting until something sticks. The point is one closing, not five term sheets."
Red-flag answer
"We'll just submit it more places." That answer turns the rejection into more shopping rather than diagnosis. The deal that didn't close at lender A usually has a reason, leverage too high, sponsor experience too thin, asset class out of favor, debt yield insufficient, and that reason is going to show up at lender B and lender C too. Diagnosis first, re-submission second.
7How to Use These Five Questions
Ask all five on the first call, in order. Don't accept hand-wavy answers; ask the same question a second way if needed. The goal isn't to interrogate. It's to get on the record what kind of process you're about to engage. A capital advisor will appreciate the questions because they let them showcase their actual model. A deal-shopper will get uncomfortable.
For more on PeerSense's model (how we built our network, what products we cover, and how we get paid) see the firm overview and our CMBS placement and broader lending solutions pages for product-level detail.
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PeerSense answers all 5 of these questions on the first call, reach out for a 15-minute consultation.
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