It just so happens I just off the phone with Stephen Brown from LaPlante ; )

Most newbies want the agency loans and just focus on getting great liability coverage through insurance.

I’m a relatively new investor who just relocated to Pittsburgh from Maryland.

BiggerPockets is full of resources designed to help you along your journey, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned investor.

Just so you know they wont be cheap money on the investment property.

Owner pays, just add it to the rent along with projected taxes and maintenance 

It's a possibility here, even more so with some of the market correction we've had, but I think the price point makes more sense if you have the flexibility to live outside of Fort Collins, even if it's just for a couple of years.

I was just tired of waiting.

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. 

The problem was that the borrower wasn't that qualified, so the broker really didn't have any good options to offer, so they just kept throwing up roadblocks in front of the seller until they finally through one up they couldn't meet (Like wanting 25% down, when that was never a condition up front.)