Preapprovals and Lender Reviews

Member since 2022 · 21 posts · 16 votes

How does one vet a lender? Ive spoken with two lenders. One was local and one was zillow home loans. Its obvious these guys have some advantage to sell their business. So what is to look out for? I have some thoughts but I’d love to hear more

Local vs Zillow - how important is this? Im also leaving the area in 2 years so would it be better to build a relationship with an on the ground lender, or an online lender that I can utilize for property anywhere?

Enthusiasm - both were pushing that they were creative at finding the best way to play the loan approval game. Zillow guy did have more ideas during the meeting though.

Costs- do lenders tell you up fron their origination fee and points if you ask? Can you just ask what their par rate is?

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Nate Sanow
Investor & Agent · Tulsa, OK · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
3y
Local is big for traditional owner occupied stuff. For investor products a lot of National lenders have good opt I especially in the low no doc realm. Sometimes google reviews are present and readily available, for example LendSimpli impressed me with their google reviews.
If you’ve only spoken to two lenders you haven’t spoken to enough yet. I’d suggest 10-20 and take good notes on your thoughts and the conversation.
Also, the search bar inside BP is great for seeing who is making a recommendation… and your local investors probably have a FB group that you can use the search bar to type In lender and see who made a recommendation.
Lastly. Old fashioned networking. Get to know other local investors and you will eventually find out who is borrowing from who. You should get way more than 2 options quickly there.
Best wishes to your success.
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Caroline Gerardo
Lender · Washington DC · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
3y
Every lender can tell you in three minutes what their costs are and products they have to match your set of details.
You need to provide:
1. your middle FICO 2. What $ is on your IRS returns 2020 2021 and paystub last week year to date 3. how much cash in checking/ savings/ 401k 4. what property type and dollar value you aim for 5. what you deposit in the bank over the past 2 years 6. location
Once you have these the lender can send an email with a quote. A quote can vary in time as rates change twice a day.
The fee structure doesn't change daily but varies by product choice.
Lender needs to be licensed in the state where you plan to buy. Lender must be smart, honest, direct, and align with your plan.
You can look up their years of experience on the NMLS consumer site here: https://mortgage.nationwidelic...
Local doesn't mean anything with investment loans. Having a wide selection of options is far more vital.
A zillow guy is probably new to the business and has limited government loan products.
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Eliott Elias
Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2021 · 9k+ posts · 5k+ votes
3y
Word of mouth is easiest, you should have friends in the industry who use their own lenders
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