How many loan applications should I submit?

[Daniele Rosman]

I'm new to real estate investment and have spoken to a few lenders. I had thought that I should send applications to quite a few to get the best rates/offers, but one lender told me I should just pick 1 or 2 and apply to those. Is there a reason to limit the number of quotes? My agent told me that if you submit a few applications within 1 week, you won't get charged for multiple credit checks because the credit agencies count it as 1 (they see that you are looking for a loan). Thank you!