Pay them well, quickly and treat them like your business partners. 

Any info you can provide would be appreciated!

The realistic return you can provide on their investment.If your answer to the first two questions is; " I do not have any."

Like many (most) businesses it requires an investment of capital; money expenditure for ongoing marketing; management of operating, marketing and professional personnel; keeping accounting records and filing tax returns; established sales practices; constant monitoring of goals, budgets, and productivity; establishment and implementation of operational systems; and providing customer service.  

I own 2 properties successfully and looking to acquire more to build my financial portfolio and to provide quality homes for those in need. 

Companies like my family specialize in providing that.

In most instances they aren't less costly but they do provide a solution for difficult installation challenges.

There are definitely pros and cons to each so I figured I would just lay out a few benefits and personal thoughts: Small banks/brokerages:Pros:- Some regional knowledge of the market- Possibility of more creative lending guidelines with bank specific programs- Sometimes they have competitive rates for their areaCons: - weak balance sheet (more strict on some guidelines, no wiggle room, inability to be flexible or grant exceptions because they cannot afford to hold less than perfect loans)- Can't scale with clients to different markets- Usually limits exposure to individual investors (they don't want one investor to be too big of a portion of their balance sheet)- Lack of experience with multiple solutions (tend to have 2 or 3 loan products they sell and are too niche to provide tailored solutions)Large banks/brokerages:Pros:- Large compliance departments that understand individual market guidelines (typically each state has specific lending guidelines that augment the national baseline)- Ability to scale into multiple markets with same lender (licensed in many states)- Impossible for individual investors to "outgrow" a large bank's balance sheet (not concerned with one investor's concentration)- More lending solutions available for different scenarios- Often comparable or better rates given the game is volume basedCons:- Can be more difficult to get fast responses if the bank/brokerage does not have good follow up systems in place (or if the underwriting/processing staff gets overwhelmed)- Bad large banks can feel less like a relationship and more like a cog in a factory (less personal)Overall, I have worked from both and worked with both as a loan officer, branch manager, and as an investor/client myself. 

They also provide an after hours phone line to report emergencies.

This form is sent to the borrower, investor, and the summary form is sent to the IRS.Other fee for services may include door knocking, bankruptcy research and filing of proofs of claim, providing credit reports, workouts with borrowers, loan modifications, short sales, REO (Real Estate Owned) management, inspection services, foreclosure management, etc.SERVICER OF RECORD OPTIONA servicing company may also offer you the opportunity to do your own workouts with the borrower while using their license as “insurance” (this is what we meant by “insurance reasons”).