If you are buying local to where you live, driving for dollars is an effective way to find off-market deals for under market price - this takes time and results aren't guaranteed but it's where you can find your next gem and build your experience with analyzing deals. 

There are very specific guidelines and processes for this type of loan so you'd want to research this for more info.If you are buying local to where you live, driving for dollars is an effective way to find off-market deals for under market price - this takes time and results aren't guaranteed but it's where you can find your next gem and build your experience with analyzing deals.

At the moment, I feel like paying off the loan is like a guaranteed 3.5% return.I'll definitely run numbers as I come across deals at the moment to get more comfortable with analyzing properties!

I can guarantee you that, if you hold this property, unforeseen repairs and capital expenditures WILL come up (likely when you least expect them).Best of luck whichever path you choose.

The real problem is not the document some want you to sign so they are guaranteed a commission (by the way I would not sign that until you are making an offer!)

A mortgage broker may be able to shed some more light on this better than I can, but I’m assuming you have a fixed rate mortgage on the rental property since the fee is so high.In order to guarantee the fixed rate and prevent people from breaking and reapplying when rates go lower, fixed mortgages have a much more substantial penalty for breaking them.  

When speaking with other lenders, the suggestion was to get a loan on an LLC, while the partners will have personal guarantee on the loan.

Lending at 80% (loan to purchase price)(1% origination, 5.5% interest, 12 month) we have a 4 million guarantee so we don’t have to wonder if we’re gonna have financing for the next deal. obviously, this is local bank lending so it’s a lot cheaper money than private money.

Back of the napkin, I can almost guarantee the cost won't make sense for the 'monthly savings'. 

@DuBeaux Dingle A lot of people recommend reading, The Miracle Morning: The Not-so-obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life Before 8AM, By Hal Elrod.