First Mortgage Advice? How do I know I'm safe?

[Pete Triantafilou]

Hey All,

I am getting ready to close on my first investment property. It is a SFH and our strategy is long term buy and hold. My brother and I are going in together and are excited but also some what cautious. We did our homework on lenders in the Cincinnati, Ohio area and found a team that we really like. The lender we have decided to go through is AnnieMac Home Mortgage.

My question is...how do you know you're safe with a lender? Obviously you end up signing a lot of paperwork etc. We had to sign a bunch of stuff tonight just to get the underwriting process started. Do most people bring lawyers to closing? I want to ensure I am not signing anything that would place us in a bad position. I was also told that the home mortgage industry is so regulated now that it is hard for lenders to scam people etc. Anyone got any advice on the areas to be cautious of? 

Thanks! 

Pete