Let me tell you something borrowers don't want to hear.

By the time I've had your loan package for 90 seconds, I already have a pretty good feeling about whether this is going anywhere.

Not the final answer. That takes weeks, committees, appraisals, all the fun stuff. But the gut check? That happens fast. And honestly, it's not that different from how you judge someone in the first minute of meeting them. You just know.

So here's what I'm actually doing in those 90 seconds.

First, I check whether the numbers work.

I flip straight to the debt service coverage ratio. It's the first thing I look at and the last thing I forget.

If you're above 1.20x on a commercial deal, we're talking. Below 1.0x and you're asking me to believe in a story where the math doesn't work yet. That's a tough sell.

Here's what drives me crazy: borrowers bury this on page 14 like they're hiding it. Don't do that. If your number is good, put it on page one and lead with it. If it's soft, tell me why before I find it on my own. I'd rather hear your explanation than come up with my own.

Second, I look at who's standing behind it.

A strong guarantor can save a weak deal. I've seen it happen plenty of times.

I'm reading the personal financial statement and asking myself three things. Do they have cash? Do they have real net worth? And if this project hits a rough patch, can their outside income carry the loan for a while?

When the guarantor is thin and the cash flow is thin, that's usually a short meeting.

Third, I sanity check the collateral.

Not what you paid for it. Not what your broker buddy thinks it's worth. What would it actually sell for in 90 days to someone who doesn't love it the way you do?

I discount every value a borrower hands me. That's just the job. But when someone gives me a realistic number with real comps behind it, that tells me something. It tells me this person is straight with me, and I'm going to give the rest of the package the benefit of the doubt because of it.

Finally, I ask myself if the story holds together.

This is the one nobody warns you about.

The numbers and the narrative have to match. If you tell me it's a stable, cash flowing property but the rent roll shows a third of the units sitting empty, now I'm questioning everything. Not just that page, all of it.

You don't need a perfect story. You need an honest one.

Here's what I'd do if I were you.

Before you send that package to any bank, print it out. Hand it to someone smart who hasn't seen it. Give them 90 seconds and ask for their honest reaction.

Whatever they say? That's pretty close to what your banker is going to think. And it's a whole lot cheaper to fix the package now than to hear "no" later.

Next week I want to tell you about a deal where the big bank passed and we said yes. Same borrower, same numbers, completely different answer. I'll walk you through why.

— Ryan