Back when I was a direct lender, I was held captive to one pool of underwriters, and didn't really realize how much variance there was here.Now that I do have that ability, and the ability to go "hey ABC Home Loans underwriter, I can send this loan to XYZ Home Loans with 100% guarantee that they will not ask for this BS condition.

We are no longer working with new customers on finance issues other than mathematically modeled credit matrixes for manufactured housing chattel lending and in the deployment of our and others money as investors in manufactured housing loans to large captive or related finance companies.

Also does not hurt to try to find captive companies that are competitive on price as they at times have better claims service and more comprehensive policy with agents who know the products better as they only have to know 1 company policy vs 10. in Minnesota Farm Bureau, federated etc..

I have been captivated ever since with real estate podcasts, books, and posts.GoalsGive my time and hard work to experienced investors who are busy and can use a handBegin my real estate investing through a house hack with my wife and childrenBuild a portfolio using the BRRRR methodI look forward to connecting with you and eventually becoming a contributing member of the Bigger Pockets community.

Most larger chain title companies will also have what we would call a "captive QI" . where the title company owns the QI or the QI owns the title company. 

They are what we call "captive QI's. 

@Shane Woodman an alternative to a bank HELOC if there is captive equity in your existing rentals that you are looking to leverage for your next portfolio purchase would be private lenders who have programs that will allow for cross-collateralization (just make sure you negotiate structured lien releases which allow you to sell or refinance one or more of the collateral properties and also see if the lender will accept a recent appraisal or a BPO).

It seems like the HOA fee in these cases is essentially just a reduced rent and that the condo owners are captive residents who will be stuck paying whatever the complex charges and, if the HOA fee gets raised too high, won't even be able to sell the condos since people would pay peanuts for them with a high HOA.

There are numerous companies you could look through, but I always suggest going through a broker.If you go through a direct/captive insurance writer (State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, or most of the big name brand names) they only have access to their lines of products, so you dont really know if you are getting a great deal. 

@Mark Fries you should look into setting up a captive insurance company, you get to self insure and your premiums are a tax write off, vs if you just put it in a savings account you lose the ability to write off.