Mortgage Lender vs Bank

[Brandon Watts]

Hey there,

I wanted to get everyone’s opinion on using a mortgage lender/broker versus a traditional local bank.

I currently have a mortgage lender I’ve used for three deals, one mortgage and two HELOCs, and we’ve developed a pretty good working relationship.

My uncle is a little more old-school and suggested that I find a loan officer/loan administrator at a local bank and build a relationship with them. His thought is that having that relationship could make it easier to get future investment property loans approved.

For those of you who invest in real estate, which approach have you found to be better: working with a mortgage lender/broker or building a relationship with a traditional local bank?

I’d especially be interested in hearing about your experiences with investment properties and getting multiple loans over time.

[Robin Simon]

Quote from @Brandon Watts:

Hey there,

I wanted to get everyone’s opinion on using a mortgage lender/broker versus a traditional local bank.

I currently have a mortgage lender I’ve used for three deals, one mortgage and two HELOCs, and we’ve developed a pretty good working relationship.

My uncle is a little more old-school and suggested that I find a loan officer/loan administrator at a local bank and build a relationship with them. His thought is that having that relationship could make it easier to get future investment property loans approved.

For those of you who invest in real estate, which approach have you found to be better: working with a mortgage lender/broker or building a relationship with a traditional local bank?

I’d especially be interested in hearing about your experiences with investment properties and getting multiple loans over time.

 Outside of the personal connection / relationship bit - I would generally say the rule of thumb is hit when someone hits the 4 or 5 property mark, they are usually "capped out" from continuing on the conventional or bank route, whether thats limits by the bank, excess qualification hurdles or just overall red tape and bureaucracy.  Banks these days are under soo so much regulation and rules that they really can't be flexible or move fast, thats why you see more and more private lenders and brokers taking share in the space