From my work as a banking expert witness, it seems that the success fees charged by finance brokers (or the caveats that sometimes secure them) result in litigation more than they should!
You’ll be in the best possible position to avoid disputes if you have the key points accurately documented in the engagement letter. This is my checklist of things to review, before you sign an engagement letter (or “mandate” as they are sometimes called).
- Is there a clear and meaningful definition of success? There are two parts to this.
First, will “success” as it is defined deliver the funding that you need, when you need it?
Are there any pre-conditions that will limit your ability to access the funding? If you don’t have capacity to contribute equity, then a loan with an LVR (Loan to Valuation) or LTC (Loan to Cost) ratio requirement won’t help you. Similarly, a $1m invoice finance facility won’t provide you with $1 million of funding unless you have “eligible receivables” of $1.25 million.
Secondly, Is the success fee triggered by a credit approved letter of offer (good) or a highly conditional indicative offer (bad)? Are you agreeing to pay a success fee for a non-binding indicative offer that might represent 15 minutes work?
- Is the limit too high? A limit that is above your actual funding requirement can provide a useful buffer up to a point – but will also result in a higher establishment fee, and higher success fee. Don’t pay (twice!) for a buffer that you will never use.
- Will you know what information is provided to which lenders? I do a fair bit of work “trying again” after a failed first attempt. That work is made more difficult if the borrower can’t show me the information already given to lenders, or tell me which lenders have already been approached.
- How long is the engagement for? Usually, you will be appointing a broker exclusively. Make sure that you will be able to move on if you feel you need to, and try someone else, if they don’t deliver.
How long is the engagement for? Usually, you will be appointing a broker exclusively. Make sure that you will be able to move on if you feel you need to, and try someone else, if they don’t deliver. - Is there a “charging clause” to secure payment of the success fee? A charging clause means that a caveat can be registered over real estate. Caveats impact your ability to deal with the property, and can be time consuming and expensive to remove.
A caveat to secure payment of a success fee might seem counter-intuitive because the new finance should fund payment of the success fee – but some brokers use them to make sure they are paid if their client declines a finance offer that satisfies the success criteria (I don’t).
A well drafted engagement letter makes all those things clear, but it is also usually necessary to engage the broker’s professional indemnity insurance (if you haven’t signed an engagement letter you are probably not a client, and if you are not a client, you are probably not protected by their PI policy).
Some engagement letters are short and simple, but some are long and involved. If there’s any doubt about what you are asked to sign, and especially, whether it contains a charging clause – have it reviewed by your lawyer.
If it only appears after your broker has received a finance offer, which they are “not allowed” to show you until you sign: definitely have it reviewed by your lawyer!