We started this firm because we kept losing deals to lenders who underwrote our W-2 instead of our work. Now we run the desk we wished we had — for the sponsors we used to be.
In 2023, a sponsor we knew put a duplex in escrow at 30% under market. Clean comps, motivated seller, minor cosmetic rehab. The mortgage broker submitted the file to a wholesale lender on a Tuesday. By Friday they were "still waiting for the appraiser." Two weeks later the seller walked. The sponsor lost the deposit and the deal.
That deal didn't fall apart because of risk. It fell apart because no one on the lender's side actually read the deal — they just ran it through a checklist. The same week, a different lender re-traded a fix & flip after the appraisal because the borrower's W-2 looked "irregular." It was irregular because the borrower owns three companies.
We started First Nation Fidelity because the gap isn't capital — there's plenty of capital in this country. The gap is operators reading deals the way operators read deals. So we hired underwriters who flip houses on the weekends. We built a desk that talks to title companies before closing, not after. And we wrote the firm's first principle on the wall: the asset is the analysis.
If your file is the file we used to lose deals on, we're built for you.
We underwrite the deal — comps, exit, scope, sponsor track record. The borrower's tax return doesn't tell us whether the rehab budget is right. The asset does.
The number we quote on the first call is the number that funds. We don't tease low rates and re-trade after the appraisal. If the deal needs to be priced higher, we tell you on day one.
A deal in escrow has eight people holding pieces of it. Someone has to coordinate them. We do — through our TC desk and through underwriting. The deadlines hit because we work the back-end before you ask.
Every file gets a named underwriter, a named TC, and a direct line. Email is for paperwork. Decisions happen on calls. If you need an answer in twenty minutes, that's the standard.
If your number doesn't work, you find out on the first call. If your file isn't a fit, we'll tell you who is. We'd rather lose a deal we shouldn't fund than fund one that hurts your portfolio.
The firm I wanted to call when I lost that duplex didn't exist. So I built it. We're not the cheapest desk in the country. We're the one that picks up the phone, reads the deal, and closes when we said we would.
Lamin Ngobeh · Founder & CEO, First Nation Fidelity
| Year | Milestone | Volume | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
2024Founded |
First close · Bucks County PA fix & flip | $340K | 9-day close from term sheet |
2025Scaling |
100th investor file · DSCR product launched | $48M | Repeat sponsor rate north of 70% |
2025Same-day capital |
Transactional funding desk launched | $1.5M | Per-transaction cap · same-day wire |
2026Today |
200th close · TC desk hits 50 files/month | $120M+ | Cumulative · DSCR + flip + bridge |
One call with an underwriter. We'll tell you on the first conversation whether your number works.