What to have ready before calling a lender about an investment property

Question

Before you call a lender, have the basic deal details ready. You don't need a perfect presentation, but a clear starting point makes it easier to discuss the financing.

1. The property

Have the address, purchase price and rehab budget ready.

2. The numbers

For a rental, know the monthly rent, annual property taxes and insurance. If it's a flip, have your estimated after-repair value ready too.

3. The goal

Are you planning to flip, buy and hold, or use the BRRRR strategy? The same property can involve a different financing conversation depending on what you plan to do with it.

These details are a starting point, not a loan approval. The lender may need more information to review the deal.

What information have you been asked for that you wish you'd had ready before the first call?

Amit Patel · Answer

Good list. From the management side, a few things owners always end up scrambling for:

If the property is already rented, have the current leases and a simple rent roll ready. If any units are Section 8, include the housing authority contract showing their portion of the rent. Lenders want to see that income is real, not just what the listing says.

For a rehab, a line-item scope of work with at least one contractor bid goes a lot further than a single budget number. And if you’re buying in an LLC, have the operating agreement and EIN on hand, that one slows down more closings than people expect.

Last one: a short list of properties you already own or have done, with what you paid and what they rent for. Even if it’s just one or two, it tells the lender you know what you’re doing.

Lauren Cutchen · Answer

I'd put the exit plan on the call before the rate conversation. Flip, BRRRR, or hold changes what the lender wants to see, and agents spend a lot of time translating that for clients. Also bring a signed lease or real rent comps, not just what a website hopes the place will rent for.

Noah Wright · Answer

Putting the goal on the list matters, since on a BRRRR it changes the whole call. What I wish more callers had ready is the refinance side. That's the rent the place should carry once the rehab is done, with a couple of rent comps behind it, and the seasoning rule of the lender who'll do the refi. Many DSCR cash-out programs limit the loan to your documented cost until you've owned it a while, often six months, and after that they'll go off the new appraised value. The refi gets sized off that rent and that value, so they decide how much cash comes back out. If the rent won't support the refi, better to find out before closing than after the rehab. Do you ask callers for their exit plan, or only the purchase numbers?

Muyees Ayilara · Answer

Erik, solid list. This is exactly what slows down most first calls. From what I see on the funding side, the borrowers who get the fastest answers are the ones who come with those three plus two more: their timeline and their experience. Lenders want to know how fast you need to close and if you have done a deal like this before. Having the address, price, rehab, rent, taxes, insurance, and exit plan ready saves everyone a week of back and forth. Appreciate you breaking this down simply for new investors. A lot of people lose deals just because they call before they are prepared.

Ametria Chaney · Answer

Erik, this is a great checklist, and from the agent side I'd add one thing to it: bring your agent's packet to the call. Before my buyers talk to a lender, I send them the listing sheet, recent comps, a rent opinion based on actual signed leases nearby, the tax and insurance figures, and a note on the property's condition and the closing timeline. That way the lender isn't underwriting a guess, and the buyer isn't surprised later. The other thing I'd have ready is your own picture: credit, cash to close, and reserves. Lenders move fastest when the deal numbers and the borrower numbers arrive together. And if you're buying in a market like Memphis, where rents and values vary street by street, a knowledgeable local agent's rent opinion is worth more than any national rent estimate — it's the number the appraiser will be looking at.

James Jones · Answer

Erik, good list. From the borrower side, on a DSCR refi I have the same packet ready for every house: purchase price, rehab budget next to the actual spend, ARV, and rent. I run 236 single-family rentals in Memphis, buy under $100K with an ARV of $180K to $265K, 3BR or more, Section 8 rent of $1,395 to $1,950, and I finance on DSCR loans at 70 to 80% LTV. The lender wants to see the deal work on the numbers, so I bring the rent, the taxes and the insurance, and the lease or housing authority contract if it is rented. The one thing I wish I had ready sooner was the actual rehab costs, line by line — the budget is a guess, the actuals are the truth. What slows down your files most often?

Erik Estrada · Answer

Solid list! The leases are a huge one. Many investors forget to include the housing authority contract and it always sticks out in underwriting. Same thing goes for missing signatures, failing to provide the PM management agreement, or not clarifying if the property is a Mid-Term Rental

What to have ready before calling a lender about an investment property

What to have ready before calling a lender about an investment property

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