But I know the scaling is faster by letting someone else do the work.  

Would it make more sense to go straight for MFHs or Apartment Complexes, doors rather than properties, in order to scale faster?

While two reps from the same firm will quote you the same rate, their ability to execute the loan can be night and day different.In regards to pros and cons ... think of the lending world as falling into 3 primary buckets: 1) traditional banks and credit unions (ie, Wells, BofA, Chase, etc), 2) mortgage banks (ie, Caliber, Quicken, Fairway, etc), and 3) mortgage brokers.Traditional Banks: (they do loans and hold deposits)Pros: because they tend to do such a large volume of loans, they are able to offer low rates ... they have the ability to do portfolio loansCons: very slow turn times - if you need to close quickly, they're generally unable to perform ... they tend to use national appraisal management companies and appraisal issues are common in competitive markets.Mortgage Banks: (they only do loans - no deposits)Pros: have the ability to close loans much faster - some of the local mortgage banks that we work with on purchases will routinely close loans in less than 14 days ... they often setup their own appraisal management companies and are able to improve the appraisal quality by ensuring the use of local appraisers.Cons: while they should be very competitive with their rates, they're not going to be the absolute lowest ... portfolio loans are generally not an option - they need to sell their loans right away so they can get that money back to lend it out again.Mortgage Brokers:Pros: they will have access to a bunch of different lenders and loan products, so they can submit your info to whichever one is offering the best terms at that moment.Cons: they have no control/influence over the underwriters or the timeframes ... they're generally forced to use national appraisal management companies, so appraisal issues are more commonHope this is helpful and good luck with the refi!

So thankful that we decided to go bigger faster by getting involved in 100+ unit apartment investments.Wishing you the best on your journey!

But if you work on your network, and add value for people, you'll probably go much further much faster. 

Everything goes faster and pay your friend a couple bucks instead of a contractor. 2. 

This community has been invaluable with the information and resources that have catapulted me into the world of REI much faster than expected.

No prepayment fees as the only interest, points, and fees are added to the back of the loan upon paying it back, so the faster it is paid in full, the greater the interest over time.

So even if the rate was lower, your payment would be higher because you have to pay it back faster. 

I would look at a heloc vs a full refi because you are paying that 1st mortgage off much faster than a new one, you basically reset the clock.