How to Talk to Multiple Banks for Investment Loans (Without Hurting Your Credit)

Question

I often hear stories on the BiggerPockets podcast about investors calling dozens of banks to find creative financing solutions (things like no seasoning requirements, blanket loans, portfolio lending, etc.).

I'm curious how this works in practice. Wouldn’t contacting so many banks result in multiple hard pulls on your credit report? Or is there a way to ask the right questions before submitting a full application?

Any insight into how experienced investors navigate this process would be greatly appreciated. I’d love to learn how to do it efficiently (and protect my credit at the same time).

Trevor Richardson · Answer

I am able to do this for you. Send docs over one time, one app. I have access to pretty much every lender in the country, from the largest to the smallest. Will get you the best terms & best fit for what you need. It is the easiest possible way, saves you time and money. Please message me and I can assist.

Ko Kashiwagi · Answer

A good lender/broker who's mastered guidelines should be able to answer most questions without pulling credit and by just listening to the borrower. Typically for a creative solution like that, the best contact is either a local credit union or a reputable broker.

Erik Estrada · Answer

I think if you are shopping it, you should have a PDF of your full scenario and email it to the lender.

The PDF should include the following:

1. Address

2. Purchase Price

3. Rehab Cost

4. Current Market Value

5. After Repair Value

6. Long term or short term rental income (actuals and estimated market rent)

7. Annual taxes

8. Annual Insurance

9. FICO Score Estimate

10. Investor Experience (I.E. How many rentals do you own, long term and short term, How many Flips have you completed in the last 36 months?)

11. Any pain points on the deal? (I.E. Rural, small square footage, Sub $100k Value, Lack of Experience, Credit Lates, Higher Lease compared to market rent, seasoning, Below 650 Fico, or any strange circumstances)

Once you get some rough terms, structured specifically to your scenario then I would base my decision on reputation, visibility, and overall communication skills.

What I commonly get is an Investor that is trying to get to the rate, without giving me any information. That's as good as sticking gum on the wall and seeing if it will stick. You will be spending hundreds of dollars on an appraisal, weeks going through the process and you may come and find out that this lender that told you what you wanted to hear, changes the terms on you the day before closing. Make sure you do your due diligence, and don't call blindly.

Noah McPherson · Answer

Thank you for the valuable insight, Erik. Creating a PDF with the full scenario is a great idea and will definitely help streamline the process for everyone involved. I’ll also be sure to keep in mind the importance of reputation, visibility, and strong communication when evaluating lenders. As you pointed out, the terms mean little if the lender changes them last minute, or if poor communication complicates the deal or the relationship. I really appreciate the advice. Thanks again!

Stephanie Medellin · Answer

If you already know your credit score and you're upfront with your financial situation and with what you're trying to accomplish, you should be able to get a general idea of what options are available without another credit pull.

If you're looking for something specific, it's ok to call around and ask if a lender has that option available.  They will probably ask some questions to determine if it's even the best product for your scenario.  Many times these unique programs may not be the best fit, and there could be something more mainstream that you can qualify for.

Jeff Wills · Answer

If you find a broker who is also a direct lender (Gershman Mortgage, as an example) then they will be able to do that for you. They have access to over 33+ lenders, and can do NON-QM loans internally allowing you flexibilty. With the right lending partner, you can forgo this route entirely. A soft pull is likley required here, but at least it will not be multiple soft pulls.

Joe Impagliazzo · Answer

Noah

Ask all the questions you can, however most lenders now can do a soft credit pull.  I would find that out once you get deep enough into the conversation.  In my experience banks do not and usually have strict underwriting guidelines as they want A+ paper (I've managed at a bank and worked at direct lenders) but that doesn't mean there are not banks or credit unions that do not.

Jacob Sherman · Answer

you'd go into the app process after getting information that is most satisfiable to you

Noah McPherson · Answer

Okay, that makes a lot of sense. One could probably do a most qualifying and disqualifying just by having conversations and being clear on things like credit score, DTI, etc. Thanks for the advice!

Brandon Croucier · Answer

If you have an idea of what your credit score is, a lender should be able to offer you terms based on that info. If agreed upon then you can proceed and have them run your credit.

How to Talk to Multiple Banks for Investment Loans (Without Hurting Your Credit)

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