Josh I have talked about this many times.On the residential side all these scammers used to exist.Sell the loan off so they didn't care and closed up shop when it fell apart.Now that residential is under huge government regs they have all moved to the commercial side.All of these people advertising many are just helpless point and fee takers getting sucked up into the scam.Many of these so called lenders are not lenders at all but mills running due diligence fees,insurance fees,deposit fees etc. and then say they can't fund later on to deny the deal.I have found direct lenders are very hard to find and I find one of those for every 20 scammers.As a buyer you do not pay upfront fees except for appraisal,survey etc.You can talk to these scammers on the phone and can tell by what they say they are not a true lender.I do very heavy lifting to make sure my lenders are real and I am not dealing with a middle man to protect my clients buying properties through me.Any company claiming to be a lender that will fund anything is more of a conduit (middle man) taking fees.A reputable lender will display recent closings and details of the loan.They will have very detailed rate sheets along with terms and conditions of the program.Any points will only be paid at closing when they perform.Many of these lenders will be highly specialized in a particular asset class and not broad in scope.The interest rates from legit lenders will be very close in percentage rate and LTV's.The difference being in how much money they have to lend and what loan size they specialize in and recourse versus non-recourse etc.Many lenders can promise but very few can deliver on the rates promised and close it.

CRIME is a big one.The percentage of non-violent to violent infractions and if crime is increasing or decreasing in the immediate area.Intermodal transportation study is another and the future land use map.This will give you an idea of where they are today and what they have planned for the area in the future and how the city and county will be allocating their resources to develop certain areas.Much more items than this but it's been a long day and my brain is out of fuel........ :)

. - If you follow a company, you'll be kept up to speed with the latest developments at that company, but otherwise, the new companies directory should not affect your experience on the site, unless you want it to. - Companies are NOT able to post on our forums.

One more note to add, REPUTATION is EVERYTHING!!!

I recommend researching such things as an an area's projected growth, renters to owners, community development, business growth, etc.Good luck.

If you know can handle these basics and have a reputable title company to work with, you can keep your expenses down while covering your bases.

The most difficult to contend with was when the plumbing under the slab of the house had developed multiple leaks and needed to be replaced!

There are 3 identical lots next to mine (with motivated sellers) as part of the same development plan.thanksKen

Most of the agencies have horrible yelp reviews and worse reputations; they are known for giving landlords BS background checks and not being good partners.

If you are leasing your own properties there are no tax advantages to using an LLC or corporation though there may be legal and asset protection reasons to use them.If you are flipping, managing properties for others, wholesaling or developing you may have tax advantages to using one or more various business entities.