Financing out-of-state properties

[Tommy N.]

Hi all,

I live in California and am looking to invest with my sister in properties located near her in Colorado, and I had a couple questions about financing. (I'm a fairly newbie investor, still trying to learn/digest as much as I can about investing, so please bear with me if these are basic questions.)

When you invest in a distant property, is it better to find a lender who is geographically closer to you (so it's presumably a quicker turnaround for you to communicate with them), or is it recommended to use one that is closer to the actual property/city/state (since they may be better calibrated to the local property values/appraisals/laws/etc.)? Or is location completely a non-issue and you can choose whomever you like best?

Secondly, when you partner with someone, do you both need to secure the loan through the same lender or can you each use your own lender? (And if you can choose, is doing one better than the other?) Any info or insight would be much appreciated!