All Forum Posts by: Aj Escomiendo

 I am pretty sure most lenders would not go through the process of a a full pre-approval if they know you are shopping them. If you insist on shopping, just ask for a soft prequal and give a lender a run down of your scenario. 

But if your main concern is getting the lowest fee and rate possible, try going with a local credit union or your personal bank. You are more than likely to get a good quote. 

To a certain extent, its okay to be open about your plans but do not continue to shop once you have committed to a broker or lender and they begin working on a file for you. Perfect example, I spent 2 weeks vetting out the proper investor who would do everything the borrower asked for - and more! and then sent me a quote after disclosures and docs went out asking If I could compete. It is not professional or the right thing to do. Brokers and lenders get paid by the deal so when we put in time searching guidelines, terms, overlays and then a client backs out that is time wasted and money lost. Hope that helps!

 Yeah I hear you.  We all want a "hack".  I've seen people get lucky so it could happen.

@Aj Escomiendo

If you're not going to personally see the property, then you'll be reliant on others and they may be crooks or at best, just not have the same goals as you.

So, you'll want to form a Tripod Team: Agent, Lender & Property Management Company (PMC).

Agents & lenders are transaction based, so few of them will really "be there" for you if something goes wrong after a sale. The PMC you hire will have to deal with whatever you buy until you sell it or you part ways. So, you may want to get them involved on any purchase ASAP, for their feedback before you sign a purchase contract.

Regarding selecting a PMC, they can make or break your investments! When a property owner first contacts us and their initial question is "how much do you charge?", it's a sign they have no clue what they are doing. If they knew what they were doing, their initial questions would be about the services offered and systems in place to deliver those services consistently!

We recommend you read our series here on BP: How to “Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”: https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processes

If you focus on putting together a good team and can get them working together, you dramatically increase your chances of investing long distance successfully.

@Aj Escomiendo

i think you go there in person. 

all the virtual success stories are the exception.  there's no BP failures podcast.

but i'd encourage you to pick the closest market you can that you can afford.  yes, it's still going to be more expensive.  but buying a bad deal in Ohio and losing 30K is expensive too.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/1167190-strug...

can you house hack?

 Hey Aj, you're right about what you think. Trust is essential in this business, especially for out-of-state investors like you.

Connecting with a reliable realtor, lender, and property management company will significantly increase your chances of finding partners you can truly trust. Realtors, for instance have deep knowledge of the market and will mostly have a network of trusted professionals they've built through successful collaborations.

Keeping track of these recommended professionals in a dedicated spreadsheet can make it easier for you to choose the right partner for each project. This way, when investment opportunities arise, you have a readily available pool of reliable partners you can confidently turn to. Building your Core 4 is crucial to ensuring your success. Hope this helps!

Hey AJ, I just went through this. I live in Colorado and decided investing in Milwaukee for a few reasons was the right move for my wife and I. I started digging through the forums here and came across a few names of property managers and their companies that were active in the forums and were posting content I felt was useful. I followed up with some research on these companies through other means like Google, Yelp, etc and reached out to them through email or messages here. That work led me to one property manager in particular who was responsive and very open. After a 15 minute phone conversation, I had a great rapport with him and knew it was the right fit. He recommended a few realtors and I went through the same process again. One more time and ended up with a mortgage lender in the area.

All this led to finding my first deal which we closed on in early December. It was rented with an incredible tenant within days of being ready. I cannot emphasize enough using these forums to research. You just might want to change the order a bit in who you search for because good property management is much harder to come by and those folks seem to know the good realtors and other resources in the area you're considering. 

Best of luck getting going!

Hey AJ, it's going to take travel to your market.  Making connections and gaining traction only happens in person. Where are you looking? Out of state?

What’s the proper etiquette when shopping mortgage rates? If planning for shopping rates, is it respectful to be transparent and tell the lender/broker that you plan on shopping the rate to get a better deal?