Dive summary:

• Builders are almost bound to need financing at some point for expansion or to refinance operations, and successfully seeking to borrow is about understanding how lenders see the borrower, not about how builders see themselves within their industry, Brad Foster of FTI Consulting says.
• Foster, who has worked for several builders, says the bottom line is not complicated: lenders want to work with builders they are confident will be able to repay the loans.
• The way to sell lenders on why a builder is a good risk is to go to them with a "realistic, believable, and sellable" business plan that makes sense to someone outside the home-construction industry, Foster advises.

From the article:

Foster believes syndicate financing ... "can be like the tail wagging the dog" for builders that end up jumping through hoops and making operational decisions to meet debt obligations and covenants. ...