Editor’s Note: Education Matters And Makes Our Industry Better

The National Private Lenders Association (NPLA) announced the launch of the NPLA Private Lending Academy and Certified Broker Course, a new training and certification platform designed to strengthen broker standards, improve execution quality, and support long-term professionalism in business-purpose real estate lending.

“Brokers sit at the center of execution in private lending. The Certified Broker Course is designed to raise the standard so submissions are cleaner, risk is addressed earlier, and lenders and brokers can move faster with more certainty,” said Jon Hornik, Executive Director of the National Private Lenders Association.

The NPLA Certified Broker Course is built for brokers who want a clear operating standard for deal packaging, underwriting alignment, compliance, and risk controls. The program is designed to help brokers reduce fallout, improve speed to term sheet and close, and operate in a way that supports consistent, lender-ready submissions across asset types.

“As someone who has spent two decades brokering and structuring business-purpose real estate loans, I’ve seen exactly where deals break. This course gives brokers a real framework for structuring deals correctly, communicating with lenders effectively, and reducing fallout,” said Chris Pepe, CEO of LoanGeek and instructor in the course.

Certification is not positioned as a one-time transaction. Participants who complete the course will receive an official certificate and will be eligible to be listed in the NPLA member portal directory as an NPLA Certified Broker, providing NPLA lenders with clear visibility into brokers who have met the program standard. This structure is intended to support stronger broker-lender alignment and improve outcomes for the industry.

“This is not a ‘take a course and move on’ program. When brokers complete the certification, they don’t graduate from NPLA; they become part of our community. The Academy is built for ongoing support: continuing education, community, real-time feedback, and direct connection into the NPLA ecosystem. It’s comprehensive in scope, and it’s designed to support long-term success for brokers and the lenders they serve,” said Amy Kame, Managing Director of the National Private Lenders Association.

In addition to the core curriculum, certified brokers will receive ongoing access to continuing education, monthly calls focused on real deal execution and lender presentations, and a resource library that includes broker tools such as scripts, checklists by property type, standardized deal submission guidance, and more.

The Academy will also provide optional ongoing operational support through NPLA’s partner ecosystem, including assistance with leads, marketing, sales, deal placement, processing, and closing, reinforcing NPLA’s broader commitment to long-term, sustained success for industry participants and better standards across the private lending marketplace.