7 Best Investment Property Loans To Help You Make Money When Buying Real Estate (2024)

A real estate investment can diversify your portfolio and produce significant returns on your investment over time. But unless you have cash to buy the property outright without jeopardizing your cash flow, you’ll need a mortgage loan to finance the purchase.

Read: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000

Best Investment Property Loans

Most real estate investors will use a residential mortgage loan. Conventional mortgage loans, as well as those backed by the Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs, allow the purchase of a home with up to four units as long as the owner occupies one unit as their primary residence. Otherwise, you can use conventional loan, including jumbo loans, for a single-family property you intend to buy and hold.

GOBankingRates has also included a couple of nonbank loans suitable for flipping homes or purchasing a commercial property or one with more than four units.

1. Chase: Best for jumbo loans
2. Rocket Mortgage: Best for loan options
3. Navy Federal Credit Union: Best for veterans and active-duty military
4. LendingOne: Best for private-money loan
5. Better: Best for 100% online loan process
6. TD Bank: Best for commercial real estate loans
7. Quontic: Best for non-qualified mortgage from a traditional bank

Chase

Chase has a rental-property mortgage loan that is distinct from its second-home mortgage loan program. Choose from fixed or adjustable rates, including on jumbo loans of up to $9.5 million. In addition, Chase offers a $5,000 on-time closing guarantee.

Pros:

• Jumbo loans up to $9.5 million
• No occupancy requirement
• Interest-only loans available

Cons:

• Non-warrantable condos not eligible
• 20% minimum down payment; higher for some loan sizes, property types and credit scores

Rocket Mortgage

Rocket Mortgage simplifies the mortgage loan process so you can close faster and with less hassle. Many borrowers can complete the entire process online.

Pros:

• Fully online process for many borrowers
• Conventional, FHA and VA loans available
• Services most of its own loans

Cons:

• Self-employed borrowers must jump through some extra hoops
• No construction or manufactured home loans

Navy Federal Credit Union

Navy Federal Credit Union specializes in meeting the financial needs of veterans and active-duty military service members, including home financing. VA mortgage loans — so called because they’re guaranteed by the VA — can be used to finance a one-to-four-unit property as long as the borrower lives in one of the units as their primary residence.

Pros:

• Typically has lower rates than conventional loan
• Perks like rate drop and closing credits
• Buy with no money down

Cons:

• VA funding fee of up to 3.3% of loan amount, depending on down payment and prior use of benefit

LendingOne

If you already have one investment property under your belt, LendingOne could be a good choice for the next addition to your portfolio. As a private-money lender, LendingOne can make it easier to get financed, and there’s no occupancy requirement.

Pros:

• Excellent selection of investment loans, including rental property, fix and flip and fix to rent
• A+ rating from Better Business Bureau
• More flexible than conventional and government-backed loans

Cons:

• Higher rates than conventional and government-backed loans
• First-time investors not eligible for financing from LendingOne

Better

Better is another online lender that lets borrowers complete the lending process digitally, with 24/7 access to applications, documents and even rate locks. The lender says its streamed process saves borrowers money and lets them close up to 10 days faster than average.

Pros:

• Fully online
• Quick closing
• No application, underwriting or origination fees
• Closing credit for using partner real estate agent

Cons:

• Must divulge too much information to see rates

TD Bank

TD Bank offers residential mortgage loans for investment properties with one to four units and commercial loans for commercial and mixed-use properties and properties with five or more units. The lender operates in 15 states.

Pros:

• Commercial real estate loans available
• Construction loans available
• Personalized rates available on website

Cons:

• Limited availability

Quontic

Quontic is a full-service bank, and one of the few banks that can make non-qualified loans, similar to the kinds of loans private-money lenders offer. That gives borrowers plenty of flexibility in terms of documentation and credit requirements.

Pros:

• Flexible lending requirements
• Can purchase through corporation or LLC
• 100% gift funds allowed

Cons:

• 25% to 35% down payment required, depending on loan amount and credit score
• Credit should be better than with conventional mortgage loan

How To Get an Investment Property Loan

Lenders consider investment property loans to have a higher risk of default compared to loans for primary homes. For that reason, they have stricter standards for investment property loans, which makes the loans harder to get. Here are steps you can take to qualify for an investment property loan.

1. Shore up your credit score: You have a score of 680 or higher — 700 or higher if you’ll need a jumbo loan. However, you’ll need a score of 740 or higher to get the best rates.
2. Build a cash reserve: Investment property loans require a large down payment — anywhere from 15% to 30%, depending on the property, the loan size and your qualifications. In addition, it’s a good idea to have three to six months’ worth of additional reserves for after you close.
3. Document your income: Adding an additional source of income won’t help your application unless you have a two-year history in the position or line of work. But you can make sure you get credit for all your existing income by keeping careful, detailed records, especially if you’re self-employed. In addition to income-verification documents like tax returns, including Schedule Cs, and profit/loss statements and bank statements, self-employed investors might need proof that the business is still active.

Other Ways To Finance an Investment Property

An investment property loan isn’t the only way to finance the purchase. For example, the seller might finance the purchase, which means you’d make payments to them instead of to a lender.

Your primary home could also be a source of funds. If you have the equity and would benefit from a rate and/or term change, you might consider a cash-out refinance to replace. Alternatively, you could take out a home-equity loan for a one-time cash outlay, or a home-equity line of credit for the purchase and ongoing expenses. Just be aware that while borrowing against your home is often the easiest and least expensive way to raise funds for your real estate investment, you risk losing your home if you default on the payments.