We have had some clients do this.

Since my firm is an investor private client boutique, I do not share resources outside of my client base.

Is your client building to rent, or build to sell? 

"The man who represents himself has a fool for a client" was said about attorneys, but it could be said about a new investor representing himself in a sales transaction.

@Jonathan Blanco, I'm and investor and a licensed mortgage broker so I've been on both sides of this conversation.I would look for a lender that (1) listens to you and understands your strategy and needs (hint: it's not always money), (2) has experience working with clients executing your strategy and brings more to the table than just cash - be it advice, relationships, deal-team partners, etc., (3) gives you viable options and explains the pros and cons of each option and (4) you enjoy interacting with - this should be a relationship, not a transaction.Once you find a few lenders like this (and you should have relationships with more than one), then you can start comparing rates and fees.

I'm sure there will be others with their own (and possibly conflicting) opinions, but for question #1, I always advise my clients to focus on properties in areas that 1) they currently (or previous) live in/near, 2) they travel to frequently, or 3) they have family/friends in the area.For question #2, the answer is going to depend on what you do for #1.

This post does not create a CPA-Client relationship.

Somewhat unrelated, but I do not allow BiggerPockets to do business with partners who require their clients to sign agreements or otherwise agree to terms that prevent them from leaving what they feel to be honest reviews on BiggerPockets.

We typically have a specific criteria of contingencies we are putting into place within the purchase and sales agreement to help protect our investor clients from many of the issues that arise when inherenting tenants.

What I wrote above does not create an attorney/client relationship between us.