Lender

Definition of "Lender"

Written by

Cathy Spacek

REALM Real Estate Professionals

A lender can be a private individual, a private or public group, or an institution that loans funds to a person or business that the lendee would later repay with interest in most cases. In real estate, a lender is most often the bank that provides the mortgage so that the buyer can purchase the house.

The meaning of a lender is someone who gives money to help another person make an acquisition. The borrower doesn’t have the money, so he appeals to the lender, and together they enter into a contract. Within the terms of the agreement, it specifies how the lendee will restore the funds, the interest rates for those funds, the period of the loan as well as the repercussions of missed payments. In case the terms of the contract are not respected, the lender can appeal to a collection agency in order to retrieve the funds, or they can claim possession of the acquisition under the terms of the loan. This is the reason why knowing how much money you can afford to borrow is fundamental.

There are two types of lenders: individual and business. The same goes for the borrowers.

Individual lenders

When an individual is looking for a loan, the lender always takes into account the borrower’s credit history as well as checking the credit score. By analyzing these, the lender can determine whether or not the individual borrower can manage the payments required without tightening their financial situation too much. Lenders implement and use this system because any lender takes a risk when granting a loan. The information available to them at the time of the loaning process helps them to assess the creditworthiness of the borrower and ensure that they will recover the loan.

Business lenders

When it comes to credit unions, savings and loans, and banks, they can offer Small Business Administration (SBA) programs, but they are always required to respect the SBA loan guidelines. However, other private institutions that provide loans have their own basis for lending money. Some of the information that small-business owners are required to present when they are looking for a loan are balance sheets, liabilities, and the net worth of the business and individual. The private institutions are more particular when it comes to lending money and can also require more detailed information about the business-like, the purpose of the venture, the location of the establishment, projected sales, projected growth, etc.