Totally agree on the liquidity snapshot—saved me once too. Another thing that helped was showing a detailed plan for property improvements. Lenders love seeing you're proactive...plus, who doesn't enjoy a good before-and-after reno story?
Good points on the reno plans, but have you found lenders consistently responsive to detailed improvement outlines? I've seen mixed results—some lenders appreciate the proactive approach, sure, but others seem more focused strictly on current cash flow and market comps. Maybe it's just my experience, but sometimes simpler is better. Have you ever had a lender push back or question your projections? Curious if that's just me...
"Have you ever had a lender push back or question your projections? Curious if that's just me..."
Definitely not just you. Had one lender practically ignore my detailed reno breakdown and zero in strictly on current rents and comps. Learned to keep it simple unless they specifically ask for more detail... saves headaches.
Had a similar experience recently—spent hours prepping detailed projections, only to have the lender skim past it and just grill me on local comps. Maybe simplicity really is key with these folks? Or maybe they're just allergic to spreadsheets...
I've noticed lenders often prefer straightforward comps because they're tangible and easy to verify. Detailed projections, while valuable to us, might seem speculative or overly optimistic from their perspective. I once prepared an extensive spreadsheet outlining rental income growth over five years, vacancy rates, and even seasonal fluctuations—only to have the lender barely glance at it and pivot straight to recent neighborhood sales. It felt frustrating at first, but later I realized they probably see dozens of these spreadsheets weekly and might just default to what's quickest for them.
Makes me wonder though: is there a sweet spot between detailed analysis and simplicity that lenders actually appreciate? Or does it vary significantly depending on the lender's internal policies or even individual loan officers...?
