Hey Curtis! I'm a lender in MO/IL/CA/FL. Most of my business is in the STL Metro area and I work with a large number of clients who are buying investment properties in the STL area. We're a mortgage bank and offer private loans, non-QM and the average Fannie/Freddie which is sounds like that's what you've been looking at. In general I typically tell my clients if they want a general rule of thumb that investment rates are about 1% higher than your average primary residence loan. So if you're at 4.375% on a primary you shouldn't be shocked to be at 5.375%. Many mentioned the size of the loan as a factor which is a massive factor that many clients don't think about when we talk rate. You might be at 5.125% on a 30 year fixed for a $200k loan, but if the loan is $50k there is hardly any profit in the loan therefore the rate is higher from the top down to try to create some revenue on the loan. However, if you look at the total interest payback over 30 years on a $60k loan b/w 6% and 5% you'll be surprised at how little that costs you and as someone mentioned, you won't have this for 30 years. I would counter the idea of shorter terms, that will not yield you positive results on Fannie/Freddie products so i typically tell my clients to pay loans off as quickly as they want to, make a 15 year payment but use the advantages of the 30 year amort. You also don't want to tie up your DTI on a lot of 15 year mortgages and hold yourself hostage from future purchases. I would steer clear of the big bank in general, they typically are not investor friendly from what I've seen since my time entering the business in 2006. I hope this helps, all the best!
