How many lenders should I speak with?

Question

I'm looking into purchasing a property as a first time buyer here in the Portland, OR metro area. Do you guys have any thoughts/suggestions on number of lenders that I should speak with? My main concern is around impact on my credit score.

Andrew Postell · Answer

@Tim Raa there is no impact to your credit score to interview a bank.  My suggestion is to call a few banks and measure them on response time and knowledge base before doing anything that is credit based.  That is, unless you are under contract right this minute.  But if you are seeking to find some lenders to work with see how long it takes for them to return your call, ask them about their investment property experiences, what types of "overlays" they have, and so forth.  You'll start to find out who's good and who's not real quick.  And then based on that discussion, use 2 or 3 to run a prequalification through (if you are within 3 or 4 months of buying).  As long as the bank pulls your credit under a mortgage inquiry is doesn't affect your score like other inquiries.  You have 2 weeks to have 1000 companies look at your credit and then after the 2 weeks they only count as one inquiry....that is, as long as they are mortgage related.  Cars, credit cards, etc. do not reconcile in this fashion.  Anyway, I hope this helps.  Thanks!