Scotsman Guide: A Good Resource for Bogus Lenders?

[Corey Dutton]

The Scotsman Guide has always been a good resource for lending sources. However, this is a publication in which lenders pay money to get listed as a lender. For this reason, it goes without saying that this “Guide” does not endorse any of the lenders on it’s lists.

For this reason, be careful to not take the Scotsman Guide as an authority of some kind. Just because a lender is listed in the Guide, it does not make the lender immediately legitimate. Just like any other advertisement, the Scotsman’s Guide is nothing more than a paid listing, an avenue for lenders to promote themselves.

Several of our clients this year mentioned that they were previously taken advantage of by a “fee collector” lender, or a bogus lender with no intention of making a loan, just to collect a fee. These clients found these bogus lenders listed in the Scotsman’s Guide.

Don’t count on the Scotsman’s Guide to give legitimacy to a lender. Do your own due diligence on a lender, whether you find them in the Guide or on the web. While the Scotsman’s Guide is a good resource for legit lenders, it’s also a good resource for fee collector, bogus lenders too. Do your homework either way.