I think you ignore the cloak of legitimacy at your peril, better to be a banker than a shylock, but if some guy admits on a podcast that he doesn't know anything about real estate but has enough hustle and specialized knowledge to support his family with a thriving business, I can't muster an ounce of disdain for him.I just read through an accredited RE Principles course, and it was good stuff, I liked it, but it didn't teach me to market for deals. 

I'm looking to share my knowledge on the CRE market and to meet more bankers, real estate pros, and appraisers through Bigger Pockets as well as help any CRE professionals that might be facing a few speed bumps.

The ones that are decent have high ($500+) HOA fees which pretty much kills any profits you may have.Talking to bankers there while trying to close on an 8U complex, they pretty much said that the market for commercial MF's are not that great.  

If you hired an attorney, accountant, banker, etc, you would check references and find somebody worth their salt.

I haven't heard anything like that, it may be the individual banker/broker that your are working with.

VIsit government sites that are used by mortgage bankers, brokers and banks to see what they are allowed to do and what is known a "prudent lending practices".After you get that under your belt you can venture off course to more creative issues, this is not one of them.Good luck, Bill

A banker can probably be of more assistance here, but my understanding is that these loans are generally written to be capable of being sold in the conforming market so the requirements are similar.

Some well-known brokerages in Columbus include Keller Williams, RE/MAX, and Coldwell Banker.

Guess who wrote that sales pitch (the threesome of bankers, politicians and realtors...).Do some modeling.

But when talking about your primary residence, I hear uneducated Realtors and bankers suggesting to keep a mortgage to keep the tax deduction.