Can you get more than 4 loans?

Question

The title says everything. While I feel like I know the answer is yes you can get more than four loans in some cases, I also feel like I could learn more from what you guys have to say. Also, about the specifics on how to get more than four loans.

I always wondered how investors would be able to own more than four properties if only four loans were allowed besides paying the property off completely so financing isn't needed.

Stephanie P. · Answer

@michael Myers

Your lender has overlays if they cap you at 4 loans.  Fannie allows up to 10 financed properties.

Stick with conventional financing for your first 10 properties, then go commercial.

Joseph Firmin · Answer

Couple ways come to mind: 1) Find a portfolio lender - aka a lender that keeps their loans on their own books - doesn't sell them; 2) Go commercial @Michael Myers, commercial lenders will let you package properties together into 1 loan and they typically use the property performance as the measuring stick for the loan. Trying to get conventional residential financing is time-consuming and cumbersome. Once you have 1 or 2 properties, try to make the leap to commercial, you'll be glad you did.

Erik W. · Answer

You can get as many loans as you can convince someone to give you.

Federally backed loans are the only ones that are limited to 4 or 10, depending on what you're doing with them.  While some praise them for the low down payments and long-term fixed rates, I'm not a huge fan because right now the Gub'mint has instituted blanket eviction moratoriums on most (all?) properties with federally backed loans.  This was not part of the original deal borrowers signed up for, but when you take Uncle Sam's money, you play by HIS rules, and he's been known to change those rules at a whim to serve his interests.  So if you don't mind saddling your investments with loans that can have the terms arbitrarily changed at the drop of a hat, sure, go for those sweet low money down, long-term fixed rates.

I've seen guys with over 100 commercial loans, all portfolio'd in house at various banks/credit unions and with private lenders.  These guys are not limited by Govt fiat, but they tend to have guidelines as far as how much they will lend you in total.  The old saying is, "If you owe the bank $1-2 million, the bank owns you.  But if you owe the bank $10+ million, you own the bank."  There's a lot of wisdom in that since banks don't want to have too much exposure in case any one investor goes belly up or has a midlife crisis and decides to cash out refi all their properties and flee the country. So they usually cap out around $2-$3 million per borrower.  However many properties you can get under that limit is up to you.

Timothy Hero · Answer

Private lending companies don't report the mortgages on your credit, which helps you avoid the 10 loan max. It's a very common way for active investors to keep investing and the loans aren't based on income, like banks.

Richard Forbes · Answer

@Timothy Hero pm private lenders for residential and commercial

Steve Morris · Answer

You can get as many loans as properties.  On the personal side, you need to keep your nose clean, but as long as the property underwrites/services a debt, one loan per property is not a problem.

If you're talking 4 loans for one property, that's a little stickier :)

Michael Myers · Answer

So much consistency with the switch to commercial lenders. That is what I heard also from another landlord. That trying to get a commercial building and a commercial loan is the way to go. Thank you guys for all the responses.

Anthony Gayden · Answer

A couple of the lenders I have worked with had limits to the number of conventional mortgages that you could have. I simply moved to different lenders that did not have those limitations. I currently have eight conventional mortgages through 5 different lenders.

Can you get more than 4 loans?

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