How do I structure a loan to fit a borrower?

You can process a standard loan, following the steps and checking the boxes. Structuring one to actually fit a borrower defeats you because it asks something different: not can this person fit our standard product, but what shape of deal would truly work for their situation. That is a creative act, not a procedural one, and no one really teaches the jump. You are being asked to design rather than to process.\nThe way in is to start from the borrower, not the product. Before reaching for a template, understand their real situation: how their money comes in, what they can truly handle, where the risks sit for them and for you. Then the structure becomes a set of answers to those specifics, the timing, the terms, the protections, all bent to fit the actual person. A standard loan asks the borrower to fit the box. Structuring asks the box to fit the borrower, safely.\nTake one real borrower whose situation does not fit the standard mold and, as practice, sketch the deal from scratch around their needs, then check it against the risks you answer for. You will feel clumsy at first, because designing is harder than processing. But do it a few times and you start to see the deal that fits, which is the whole craft you are reaching for.