Real Estate Investing: How to Choose a Lender

To become a successful real estate investor it's vital to have a long-term relationship with a good lender. Having a flexible lender who knows your needs and objectives can be the difference between success and failure in your investment career.

Choose several lenders to begin with, and then interview all of them. Ask friends, other investors, and realtors for referrals. Call all of your potential candidates in the same week, so you'll have identical criteria for comparing their rates, fees, and programs.

Instead of trying to fit into a lender's program, interview your lenders by finding out how they can accommodate your needs. Here are a few questions to ask:

1. What are their requirements for middle credit scores and income?

2. What are their standard loan costs? These include things like points, processing, underwriting, documentation preparation, filing, and credit report fees. Can you add these fees to the loan amount?

3. Is there a required holding period before you can resell the property? Are there prepayment penalties when you flip your investment properties?

4. Do they require mortgage insurance? If so, what is the minimum percentage you'll need to put down in order to avoid having to purchase that insurance?

5. How much can you finance, and can you finance fixer houses? How much down payment would be required on such houses?

5. Can sellers help with the loan costs, and to what extent?

After you've interviewed your potential candidates, make your choice according to the programs that fit your needs, as well as from the feeling you get from that person. Do they seem as if they'll be easy to work with from a personal standpoint? Since you're hoping to use that lender again and again, it's important that you feel comfortable with them as a person as well as a source of financing.

A good lender wants your repeat business and works hard to find the right loan for each transaction. They may even be able to help you locate potential investment properties. Finding a great lender is a crucial component for your ultimate success as a real estate investor, so choose carefully.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

MORE RESOURCES:

Hypo Real Estate Gets EU20 Billion Guarantee From Rescue Fund - Bloomberg

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/22/virginia-asks-navy-to-delay-base-move/cid=1272970285ei=QoknSZf8NJqO9QSQweQJusg=AFQjCNGtH-r_Gcbyd27gMMd4JCnfhvneCgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=sFePmluJNTwJimgurl=media.washingtontimes.com/media/img/photos/2008/11/20/AUTO_001_r329x151.JPG%3Fe315d4515574cec417b1845392ba687dd98c17ce width=80 height=37 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Washington Times/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601100%26sid%3Da_tWZcQXw0Pw%26refer%3Dgermanycid=1272970285ei=QoknSZf8NJqO9QSQweQJusg=AFQjCNFNnKbAppST9e7vU7psFIvhhefvkgHypo bReal Estate/b Gets EU20 Billion Guarantee From Rescue Fund/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBloombergnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-121 (Bloomberg) -- Hypo bReal Estate/b Holding AG, the German property lender bailed out by the German government and financial institutions last month, b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-1fd=Rurl=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUnm1V9WJblKt9BR2u9troModrrwD94JFGBG0cid=1272970285ei=QoknSZf8NJqO9QSQweQJusg=AFQjCNGSf4r9HWCA4T_QeDVVwvURP-zRVQHypo bReal Estate/b to receive euro20 billion loan/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-2fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8057611cid=1272970285ei=QoknSZf8NJqO9QSQweQJusg=AFQjCNHbRCXn6JFZJrTHubMQdvwatupeCg1-Hypo Real gets 20 bln euros in govt guarantees/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrguardian.co.uk/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-3fd=Rurl=http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/DGAP-Adhoc-DEPFA-Deutsche-Pfandbriefbank-AG-SoFFin--/de/Unternehmensnachrichten/19883103cid=1272970285ei=QoknSZf8NJqO9QSQweQJusg=AFQjCNH3s_i5EdUy8ngIbfIClQDYJAw7cwDGAP-Adhoc: DEPFA Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG: SoFFin grants EUR 20 b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAd-Hoc-News (Pressemitteilung)/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272970285hl=ennobrall 115 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Target Won#39;t Pursue Pershing Square Real Estate Plans - CNNMoney.com

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NAR, REAL ESTATE CHANNEL Create Online News Partnership - MarketWatch

Real estate recovery not seen until 2011 - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Real-estate investment firm fights to stay afloat - Arizona Republic

Citigroup says commercial real estate bigger issue now for banks - Reuters

Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust announces November distribution - FOXBusiness

Real estate group backs sick leave law challenge - Bizjournals.com

Web sites offer real estate agent rankings - BusinessWeek

Real estate trophies on hold - Bizjournals.com

Real-Estate - Google News

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