Private Mortgage Loan Underwriter (residential)

RWA Group; Westlake Village (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Realworld Asset Group, LLC is seeking an experienced underwriter to evaluate and structure residential investment loans from initial review through credit approval. You will assess borrower and guarantor strength, property values, project feasibility, and repayment strategies.

The role involves collaborating with originators and management to prepare clear credit recommendations and deliver a complete underwriting package to the closing team, addressing questions as needed.

Qualifications

• Experience underwriting business-purpose residential loans, including bridge, fix-and-flip, or ground-up construction lending.
• Strong real estate valuation knowledge, construction budgets, loan structures, and collateral-based credit analysis.
• Ability to analyze borrower and guarantor financial statements, credit reports, liquidity, and project performance.
• Sound credit judgment to identify risks and propose mitigants with clear analysis.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to prepare concise credit memoranda.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage competing deadlines independently.
• Proficiency in Excel and loan origination systems; LendingWise experience is a plus.
• Familiarity with institutional investor underwriting guidelines and warehouse lender requirements is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Borrower and Guarantor Analysis: Evaluate credit history, financial condition, liquidity, outstanding obligations, and contingent liabilities.
• Property and Market Analysis: Review appraisals, comparable sales, property condition, and local market dynamics.
• Construction and Rehabilitation Review: Analyze budgets, scopes of work, schedules, contractors, permits, and contingencies.
• Loan Structuring and Repayment Analysis: Evaluate sizing, LTV/LTC, equity, reserves, and exit strategies.
• Credit Recommendations and Exceptions: Prepare memoranda and present to management or credit committee.
• Underwriting Handoff and Credit Support: Document terms and conditions for closing; track changes needing review.
• Capital Partner Guidelines: Assess transactions against warehouse lender and lender requirements.
• Pipeline and Process Management: Manage multiple assignments, deadlines, and data accuracy; improve templates.

Skills

Underwriting experience

Credit analysis

Real estate valuation

Financial statement analysis

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Excel

LendingWise

Tools

LendingWise

Job description

Realworld Asset Group, LLC (RWA) is a residential private credit platform providing business-purpose financing to real estate investors, builders, and developers nationwide. We specialize in bridge, fix-and-flip, and ground-up construction loans secured by non-owner-occupied residential properties. Our approach combines responsive execution with disciplined underwriting, practical loan structuring, and a focus on capital preservation.

About the Role

Realworld Asset Group, LLC (RWA) is a residential private credit platform providing business-purpose financing to real estate investors, builders, and developers nationwide. We specialize in bridge, fix-and-flip, and ground-up construction loans secured by non-owner-occupied residential properties. Our approach combines responsive execution with disciplined underwriting, practical loan structuring, and a focus on capital preservation.

About Us

Realworld Asset Group, LLC (RWA) is a residential private credit platform providing business-purpose financing to real estate investors, builders, and developers nationwide. We specialize in bridge, fix-and-flip, and ground-up construction loans secured by non-owner-occupied residential properties. Our approach combines responsive execution with disciplined underwriting, practical loan structuring, and a focus on capital preservation.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced, detail-oriented underwriter to evaluate and structure residential investment loans from initial review through credit approval. This role requires strong credit judgment and the ability to assess borrower and guarantor strength, property values, project feasibility, and repayment strategies.

The underwriter will work closely with originators and management to structure transactions, identify and address risks, and prepare clear credit recommendations consistent with RWA’s underwriting standards and capital partner requirements. The role includes providing a complete underwriting package to our dedicated closing team and addressing credit-related questions as needed.

Key Responsibilities

• Borrower and Guarantor Analysis: Evaluate credit history, financial condition, liquidity, outstanding obligations, and contingent liabilities. Assess the borrower’s experience, track record, and capacity to execute the proposed project and meet loan obligations.
• Property and Market Analysis: Review appraisals, comparable sales, property condition, and local market dynamics. Evaluate as-is and as-completed values, the reasonableness of valuation assumptions, and the property’s marketability.
• Construction and Rehabilitation Review: Analyze project budgets, scopes of work, construction schedules, contractor qualifications, permit status, and contingencies. Assess whether borrower equity, loan proceeds, and reserves adequately support project completion.
• Loan Structuring and Repayment Analysis: Evaluate loan sizing, loan-to-value, loan-to-cost, loan-to-after-repair value, borrower equity, interest reserves, and construction holdbacks. Assess the feasibility of sale or refinance exit strategies, including the impact of delays, cost overruns, and lower-than-expected values.
• Credit Recommendations and Exceptions: Prepare credit memoranda summarizing the transaction, key risks, mitigating factors, proposed terms, policy exceptions, and approval conditions. Present recommendations to management or credit committee and exercise approval authority as delegated.
• Underwriting Handoff and Credit Support: Document approved loan terms, credit rationale, exceptions, and outstanding credit conditions for handoff to the closing team. Evaluate material changes requiring further underwriting review and address credit-related questions referred by the closing or post-closing teams.
• Capital Partner Guidelines: Evaluate transactions against applicable warehouse lender and loan purchaser underwriting requirements. Identify eligibility issues and exceptions early, and support capital partner credit reviews.
• Pipeline and Process Management: Manage multiple underwriting assignments and deadlines while maintaining accurate analysis and loan system data. Communicate outstanding items and credit concerns promptly, and help improve underwriting procedures, templates, and consistency.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience underwriting business-purpose residential loans, with experience in bridge, fix-and-flip, or ground-up construction lending.
• Strong understanding of real estate valuation, construction budgets, loan structures, and collateral-based credit analysis.
• Ability to analyze borrower and guarantor financial statements, credit reports, liquidity, and real estate project performance.
• Sound credit judgment, with the ability to identify material risks, recommend practical mitigants, and support decisions with clear analysis.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare concise credit memoranda and explain underwriting decisions.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage competing deadlines and work independently.
• Proficiency in Excel and loan origination systems; experience with LendingWise is a plus.
• Experience with institutional investor underwriting guidelines and warehouse lender eligibility requirements is preferred.

What We Value

We value underwriters who take ownership of their analysis, ask thoughtful questions, and communicate clearly. The ideal candidate balances commercial awareness with independent credit judgment and helps move sound transactions forward while maintaining disciplined lending standards.