This is to be sure you actually will have the funds necessary to close, when you find something you want to buy.While hard money is similar, it can be a bit trickier to get a clear rate quote without the specific property already in mind (and ideally, under contract).To keep things simple: I'd recommend still talking to your potential lender(s) BEFORE you spend too much effort shopping around.

I would advise you to shop around for other lenders.

However, shop around as each lender can be different.A lot of times it wasn't always a lot of cash out of pocket however.  

@David Krulac - Nice post - as I mentioned above  - the 1% brokerage shops never survive here because the process is incredibly time consuming and complicated.  

A few of my friends ended up there for the long haul, and I make a trip there every once in a while when I'm in the mood to do some shopping at IKEA :).

I can find reliable subs for just about everything else (And the more reliable, the more expensive)... but finding good and reliable carpenters is like walking into a butcher shop and asking for Unicorn steaks. 

.• location - I'm a believer that if you want quality tenants, location should be priority I.e (good school districts, low crime, middle to high income families, access to shopping centers and freeways, etc..)• Quality - To start off make sure to buy a property that is not going to require major repairs.

We don't know what market we want to shop in right now- San Francisco is absurd.

Brokers (not agents) can shop around to find you the best deal to meet your needs, however not all brokers are the same... hence the reason I suggest speaking to 2-3.

Hey everyone,I'm about to send out my first round of direct mail postcards to my target list, but I have one question before i go to the print/mail shop to give them my order.What does everyone put on the "b" side of their postcards?