There are definitely pros and cons to each so I figured I would just lay out a few benefits and personal thoughts: Small banks/brokerages:Pros:- Some regional knowledge of the market- Possibility of more creative lending guidelines with bank specific programs- Sometimes they have competitive rates for their areaCons: - weak balance sheet (more strict on some guidelines, no wiggle room, inability to be flexible or grant exceptions because they cannot afford to hold less than perfect loans)- Can't scale with clients to different markets- Usually limits exposure to individual investors (they don't want one investor to be too big of a portion of their balance sheet)- Lack of experience with multiple solutions (tend to have 2 or 3 loan products they sell and are too niche to provide tailored solutions)Large banks/brokerages:Pros:- Large compliance departments that understand individual market guidelines (typically each state has specific lending guidelines that augment the national baseline)- Ability to scale into multiple markets with same lender (licensed in many states)- Impossible for individual investors to "outgrow" a large bank's balance sheet (not concerned with one investor's concentration)- More lending solutions available for different scenarios- Often comparable or better rates given the game is volume basedCons:- Can be more difficult to get fast responses if the bank/brokerage does not have good follow up systems in place (or if the underwriting/processing staff gets overwhelmed)- Bad large banks can feel less like a relationship and more like a cog in a factory (less personal)Overall, I have worked from both and worked with both as a loan officer, branch manager, and as an investor/client myself. 

I think the one thing that Airbnb doesn't mention much that is taking away from their business is the spike in direct booking platforms for the top performing hosts and competition from VRBO /Booking.com/Other Niche OTAs.

For example if this is your first flip they likely wouldn't be lending for a heavy rehab project, conversion project, or ground up construction projects.

No appraisal required and very fast funding, competitive interest rates (they get better with your experience as a rehabber and number of loans with the company. 

Many markets are very competitive so you want to think about where your property falls and how you plan to market, stand out, and get bookings. 

At favorable LTV's (75% and below) rates can be very competitive (currently in the 7%'s) or sometimes nearly half the rate of interest on alternative second lien positions loans.

This does not seem likely dueto the national nurse shortage.The market is flooded with competition.

This is a new home and the builders in our area need to be competitive so closing costs were covered by the seller as well. 

Is this a building you see yourself owning for an extended period of time and/or if you were to sell the building will there be a satisfactory return on the heavy lift capex  investment that's necessary?

With the townhome, my reservations is the rental competition as the area has many townhomes communities with units bought by investors, but I like the lower taxes and insurance rates.