How To Locate Small Regional Bank Brokers

[Bryan Hancock]

Bryan A started a blog post about talking with small, regional banks. I was fortunate enough to meet a broker for these banks in Austin several years ago, which kept me from wearing out shoe leather talking to everyone. Someone in the business also knows who has money at any given point in time. I closed a deal earlier this year that would not have happened without a portfolio loan.

People started to ask in the blog comments about how to go about locating these folks in their area. My suspicion is that local REIA heads would be a good source for this information. Does anyone have other ideas about how to find these people?

[Darryl Dahlen]

Good thread.

Finding a good source who knows the lay of the land when it comes to lending can make all the difference in the world. With lenders being so tight with money, it is important to ally yourself not only with a lender who is lending, but is doing so in a fashion that won't put you through hell with never-ending stips or underwriting times that endanger your rate lock and/or purchase contract.

A knowledgeable broker can take away a lot of the stress that comes from kicking the tires with lenders since they're in the trenches and rely on getting paid by closing deals. Time is money to us brokers so there is no benefit to sending deals to a lender who isn't performing.

For residential deals, you could also check with the local title companies. Since they're the ones closing the loan they should be able to point you in the direction of a capable broker that meets your specific need (Short sale, rehab, investment, etc.)

They might even know who the players are for credit unions and smaller portfolio banks.

Can't hurt to ask them. They'll certainly appreciate the opportunity to gain more business.