Where to get financing? Local to the property or local to you?

[Calvin H Duggin]

Hello all,

I'm currently house hacking and that is going great so far. My parents also have several rental properties and habe learned a lot from them. I'm now looking for my first investment property but before I go to far I plan on getting my financing in order. (Making sure not to get the cart before the horse)

I seem to recall from possibly one of the many podcasts that I have been listening to that it's best to get financing from a small local/community bank that is close to the property. Have y'all found this to be true? Also where do y'all get your financing?

I have 20 percent down and have some extra for updates etc.

Thanks in advance for any advice/information.

[Ronald Isgate]

Generally yes - as a rule of thumb small local banks and credit unions only lend in their general geographic areas.  The catch is there that many are not what you would consider "aggressive" with their programs/terms.  Typically more regional sized lenders are the ones providing more options program wise, but it only takes one local community lender with a good program to make it work.  I would approach both the local lenders in that area as well as larger regional lenders to get a good overall feel for your options.