Real Estate investors are different in many ways but similar in many others. While they are different in the strategies they use to invest in real estate, they are similar in the sense that they have a longer term goal of building a real estate portfolio that will support retirement, build significant wealth and/or enable them to become full time investors.
As an investor who is planning on purchasing more than one property, you want to make sure that the lenders will say “YES!” to financing your next purchase as well as subsequent ones and that you don’t hit a wall with respect to financing as you build your investment portfolio.
A Goals-Focused approach to financing your real estate deals is framework that you can adopt together with your lending advisors to ensure that you increase your chances of getting approved for financing while reducing your financing costs and risks.
It is about you being clear as early as you can in the investment process with your lending advisor about your investment plan and goals and keeping your advisor informed about any changes to your plans. This will help him/her:
- Finance the deal at hand with an understanding of the big picture and your short and long term goals
- Help you finance your deal now while proactively thinking through the implications of today’s financing strategy on your ability to qualify for financing tomorrow.
- Allocate the loans strategically among the different lenders in a manner that will increase your chances of approval down the road, reduce your portfolio financing costs and help manage your risks
- Recommend financing strategies that are well suited to your plan and risk profile
See our post on “Nine things to discuss with your lending advisor” for a list of the discussion topics you need to discuss with your lending advisor as an investor.