What to prepare for a rental loan conversation

Most slow files are slow for a simple reason: the information needed to evaluate them was never gathered in one place. A thirty-minute conversation goes much further when you arrive with a few basics.

The property

• Address, property type, and unit count
• Purchase price, or current value if you are refinancing
• Estimated rent, and whether it is an actual lease or an estimate
• Estimated taxes, insurance, and association dues
• Occupancy status and condition

If the property is under contract, have the contract close at hand. If it is not, the price and rent assumption are still the starting point.

The money

• Down payment or equity position you are comfortable with
• Available reserves after closing
• Any existing liens being replaced
• A realistic closing timeline

The plan

• Is this a long-term hold, a renovation, or a short-term project?
• If the property needs work, is there a scope and a budget?
• Is there a sale or refinance planned, and roughly when?

This last set of questions matters more than borrowers expect. The financing that fits a ten-year hold is not the financing that fits an eighteen-month project.

What we do not need through a website

Do not send Social Security numbers, ITIN numbers, bank account credentials, tax documents, or sensitive financial uploads through public forms. None of that belongs in a web form, and our scenario form never asks for it. When a file moves forward, there is a proper process for sensitive documents.

What happens next

With the basics in hand, we can usually identify two or three financing paths worth evaluating and tell you what documentation each would require. That is a much better use of the first conversation than collecting an application.