How to Network with Lenders?

[Vee Vu]

When should I talk to lenders (hard money lenders, private lenders)? Some people said I should control the deal (under contract) before talking to them because their time is valuable. While other said I should just go and talk and establish a good relationship with lenders. 

[Andrew Postell]

@Vee Vu Generally speaking your prequalification letter is based on a price and not a property. In theory you can use it for any property.  Keep in mind though that some properties will affect your down payment and rate (duplexes for example).  Just talk with your lender and tell them what you are trying to do and they can guide you accordingly.

You hit on something that is VERY important - Shopping! Please do shop around for a lender. Please, please, pretty please! You probably test drive a car before buying one, try on shoes/pants...this is a LOT more expense than all of those items. So do some test driving! For a conventional/FHA/VA loan lenders aren't very likely to "negotiate" their rate. But almost every bank out there will price match.  So get a "fee worksheet" from each bank and try to do it on the same day.  A fee worksheet shows you all the fees a bank charges so you can compare.  If a bank is squirmish at providing this...then go somewhere else!  Since interest rates change daily (and sometimes multiple times a day) if you get them on the same day it will give you the highest probability of being a fair comparison between the banks.  If you get one fee worksheet today then another in a month the rates could be VERY different.  Get the fee worksheets the same day and that should guide your decision in the best method.  If you like this post please vote for me and if you need any other questions then ask away!