What Questions Should I Ask Before Using a Commercial Finance Broker?

Most people vet a broker on instinct, a friendly manner on the phone, a professional-looking website, a confident turn of phrase. None of that tells you whether they'll actually get your deal done, or whether you're the one paying for advice that a dozen other lenders would have given you for free. Five direct questions cut through most of that noise fast.

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Question one: are you FCA regulated, and what's your reference number?

This is the non-negotiable starting point. A genuinely FCA regulated broker will give you their Firm Reference Number (FRN) without hesitation, and you can verify it independently on the FCA's Financial Services Register in minutes. If a broker is vague, defensive, or slow to answer this, treat it as a serious warning sign rather than an oversight.

Question two: how many lenders do you actually have access to?

Commercial finance is a genuinely fragmented market, different lenders specialize in wildly different things, property types, credit histories, business sectors, deal sizes. A broker with access to five or six lenders can only ever show you a fraction of what's actually out there.

Ask specifically how many lenders they work with, and, ideally, whether that access spans the type of finance you actually need, commercial mortgages, bridging, development finance, or wider business lending.

Question three: how are you paid, exactly?

Some brokers charge an upfront fee. Others are paid by the lender once a deal completes, meaning no upfront cost to you. Neither is automatically better, but you deserve a clear, direct answer either way, not a vague gesture towards "it depends" without further explanation. A broker who's transparent about their own remuneration is generally more trustworthy across the board.

Question four: have you placed cases similar to mine before?

Experience with your specific type of deal matters considerably more than general reassurance. A broker who's arranged plenty of straightforward residential buy-to-let finance isn't necessarily the right fit for a semi-commercial purchase, a first-time development scheme, or a business with adverse credit history. Ask directly, and expect a specific, confident answer rather than a generic "we can help with anything."

Question five: what happens if the first lender you approach says no?

This question reveals more than almost any other. A broker with genuine panel breadth and experience will have a clear answer, which other lenders they'd try next, and why. A broker without a real plan for this scenario may simply be working from a shortlist of familiar names rather than genuinely matching your deal to the market. A single decline should never be the end of the conversation with a broker who actually knows what they're doing.

Why do these five questions matter more than a broker's general reputation?

Because reputation, marketing, and a confident manner tell you very little about the things that actually determine whether a broker will get your deal done: genuine market access and transparency about how they're paid. These five questions get directly to both, rather than relying on impression alone.

What should a genuinely strong broker's answers sound like?

Specific, and delivered without hesitation. A confident FRN, quoted from memory. A clear sense of how many lenders they work with, and in which areas. A plain explanation of their fee structure. Concrete examples of similar cases they've placed. And a genuine answer about what happens next if the first attempt doesn't succeed. Vagueness on any of these is worth probing further before committing to anything.

Are there any other questions worth asking, depending on the deal?

Beyond the core five, it's often worth adding situation-specific questions: how quickly can they typically get terms agreed, what documentation will they need from you upfront, and whether they've dealt with your specific circumstances, adverse credit, a first-time business, an unusual property type, before. The five core questions form the foundation, but tailoring one or two further questions to your specific situation rarely hurts.

The mistake people often make

Many choose a broker based purely on how the initial conversation felt, warm, reassuring, confident, without asking any of these direct, somewhat uncomfortable questions. A broker who's genuinely good at their job won't be thrown by any of them. One who is thrown by them has told you something important before you've even started the application.

The bottom line

Before using any commercial finance broker, ask these five questions directly: are you FCA regulated and what's your reference number, how many lenders do you have access to, how are you paid, have you placed cases similar to mine, and what happens if the first lender says no. These enable borrowers a genuinely useful way to separate brokers who talk a good game from those who can actually deliver one.

Disclosure: Money Pilot Ltd (FRN: 968705) is an Appointed Representative of Yellow Stone Finance Group Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 814533). Yellow Stone Finance Group Ltd is a credit broker not a lender. Money Pilot Ltd is Registered in England and Wales No: 13621432. You should always make sure you are able to afford any repayments as late or missed payments can affect your credit rating and access to future finance.

YOUR PROPERTY MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT.