Learn Guide

Deal Assessment: Proceed or Pause

Five-pillar assessment framework before deal submission.

Assessment before submission

Every deal should pass through an assessment gate before submission to a fund. This is not about gatekeeping — it is about protecting the broker's time, the borrower's costs, and the relationship with the fund.

Submitting a deal that is not ready damages credibility with credit teams. It consumes capital allocation that could have been used for a better-prepared deal. And it costs the borrower time and money in aborted DD costs.

The five pillars

Asset quality

Is the security well-located, liquid, and likely to value at or above expectation? Does the asset type match fund appetite?

Structure and leverage

Is the LVR defensible with buffer? Is the structure simple enough to execute within the timeline? Are there unnecessary layers of complexity?

Exit certainty

Is the exit strategy evidence-based and time-aligned with the loan term? Could the borrower execute the exit even if conditions change?

Capital alignment

Are all layers of the capital stack aligned — consents, priority, enforcement, maturity? Is there a clear plan if any layer fails?

Time and execution risk

Does the timeline allow for valuation, DD, legal, and settlement with buffer? What happens if any stage takes longer than expected?

Assessment outcomes

Proceed

The deal is ready for submission. All five pillars are green or one is amber with a clear mitigation plan.

Restructure

The deal has potential but needs work. One or more pillars are amber or one is red. Address the gaps before submitting.

Pause

Multiple pillars are red. The deal is not ready. Pushing it forward now will cost more than waiting and fixing the fundamentals.

Key takeaway

Assessment is not gatekeeping. It protects credibility, saves costs, and ensures deals that go to credit committee have the best possible chance of settling.

Apply this to a real deal

Why: A five-pillar gate that tells you whether a deal is ready or needs work.

Do: Rate each pillar green, amber, or red based on your current deal.

Output: A proceed, restructure, or pause recommendation with a targeted action plan.

Deal Assessment Gate

Step 7 of 8 — Decide: proceed, restructure, or pause.

Asset quality

Select

Structure & leverage

Select

Exit certainty

Select

Capital alignment

Select

Time & execution risk

Select