Portfolio lenders can be an excellent financing option if you’re looking for a source of funding that you can’t get anywhere else, whether it’s because you can’t get approved, or you’re just flat out looking for uncommon terms. You see, portfolio lenders retain loans in-house so they don’t have to worry about third-party requirements. Because of this, they have a lot more flexibility in determining who they want to lend to, how much, and the specific rates and terms to offer.
With that being said, portfolio lenders aren’t all created equal. To save you time from doing the research yourself, I’ve looked at more than a dozen different lenders and selected the following as my top picks based on things like the rates and terms offered, company reputation, and funding speed.
- Kiavi: Best overall for customer service
- RCN Capital: Best for experienced property flippers
- North American Savings Bank: Best for range of financing options
- CoreVest: Best for large funding needs
- Lima One Capital: Best for repeat customers
My top picks for best portfolio lenders
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Kiavi: Best overall for customer service
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Why I like Kiavi
Kiavi is my pick as the best overall because it has an incredibly strong commitment to delivering high service levels. As a testament to this, it has a 4.8-star rating on Trustpilot with over 500 reviews. That’s one of the highest ratings I’ve seen out of any provider being evaluated. Customer reviews frequently mention Kiavi’s strengths, such as the quality of its loan offerings, ease of the application and funding process, its overall simplicity in getting a loan, as well as the knowledge and expertise of its lending team.
All of that makes sense, as browsing through Kiavi’s catalog of loan products, I also got the sense that it would be quite simple to get funding. Kiavi requires no application fee, and depending on the loan program you choose, you could get approved with no appraisal requirement or income verification needed. In fact, eliminating many of those items that would normally require third-party verifications is what allows Kiavi to offer the ability to fund in as little as 7 days.
RCN Capital: Best for experienced property flippers
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Why I like RCN Capital
RCN Capital is my pick for experienced property flippers because it offers better rates and terms depending on your level of experience. But not only that, you can also qualify with RCN Capital as a relatively new investor with as few as just 2 flips completed in the past 3 years. If you’ve completed more than 10 flips during that time frame, you can qualify for RCN Capital’s best pricing and get the greatest amount of flexibility when it comes to things like required down payment amounts. RCN Capital also offers programs suitable for all types of investors, including short-term fix-and-flip investors and long-term fix-and-hold investors.
RCN Capital specializes in loans for business purposes only. What that means is that the property being financed must not be used for individual or personal interests, and no funding is made available for any type of owner-occupied home. Additionally, be aware that unlike some of the other lenders in our guide, you may need to provide a lot more documentation to qualify, depending on the complexity of the property being purchased. Common examples of required paperwork could include bank statements, property leases, and renovation estimates.
(Source: RCN Capital)
North American Savings Bank: Best for range of financing options
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Why I like North American Savings Bank
North American Savings Bank (NASB) has one of the largest ranges of loan programs I’ve seen. For this reason, you have an incredibly high chance of finding a program suited for your circumstances. This includes the ability to lend on primary residences, something that few lenders are willing to do. NASB places a large emphasis on being able to say Yes to loans when others have said No. Many of its lending programs are a great fit for those trying to use unconventional means to qualify, such as bank statements or asset depletion.
One of the downsides involved with having a bank with a range of loan programs like NASB, however, is that it can be confusing to even know where to start. If this is the case, you’ll need to rely a little bit on the NASB team to guide you to the best financing solution. Additionally, since qualification requirements may vary depending on the program you choose, you may not know if you are eligible until after you submit a loan application.
CoreVest: Best for large funding needs
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Why I like CoreVest
CoreVest offers some of the highest financing amounts in this guide, so it’s a great pick if you have large, complex funding needs. Its lending products focus largely on multifamily and residential investment properties, so you should be able to find something suitable whether you’re a short-term or long-term investor. It does, however, require most borrowers to have a good amount of experience as either an investor or property flipper, depending on the type of loan you’re applying for. Down payment requirements also tend to be a bit higher than other providers, so in general, you should have a solid set of qualifications if you’re considering CoreVest.
One notable item I noticed in my review of CoreVest is that its customer review ratings were lower than many other providers I evaluated. That’s not to say they were bad, but it is something you should take note of if customer service is especially important to you. I looked at several different review sites and found that CoreVest was rated 4 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot and 3.9 stars on Google reviews. I generally like to see companies with ratings of at least 4.5 and above, as I consider that to be an Excellent rating. However, a 4 out of 5 is something I’d still consider to be categorized as Good.
Lima One Capital: Best for repeat customers
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Why I like Lima One Capital
If you expect to have recurring financing needs, Lima One Capital is an excellent company to partner with. This could be the case if you frequently flip properties or expect to acquire or build homes continuously. Borrowers who stick with Lima One Capital can benefit from perks such as discounted closing costs, as is the case with its Fix2Rent program. And with its depth of lending programs, it’s a company built to grow with you as you scale your business.
Now, when it comes to customer reviews and ratings, Lima One Capital, unfortunately, does suffer from some of the same downsides as CoreVest. Overall, customers view Lima One Capital in a positive light. It has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, logging just one complaint in the past year and seven in the past 3 years. It also has a 4-star rating on Trustpilot. However, it does have a 1.9-star rating on Yelp, albeit with only 15 reviews. Given the overall positive sentiment from other review sites, however, I still concluded that Lima One Capital was an excellent option to consider.
How to choose the best portfolio lender for you
You’ll have plenty of options for lenders, and you’ll want to take your time in selecting the right one. Choosing the wrong one can have a ton of bad consequences, such as overpaying, having delayed access to funding, and getting a frustrating loan approval experience overall. Here’s what you should consider before you finalize your choice for a lender:
- Flexibility of qualifications: It won’t matter how great the lender is if you can’t qualify. Make sure you meet the lender’s eligibility criteria to see if you’ll even have access to its products and services. If you’re borderline, check to see how flexible the lender can be with its underwriting and how much emphasis they might place on compensating factors.
- Rates, terms, and fees: These items will have a direct impact on your company’s bottom line and monthly cash flow. Make sure you can afford the monthly payments and understand if and when certain fees could be applied to your account.
- Support options: If you have questions or issues with your loan, having easy access to a lender can help eliminate any potential frustration. Common support options include phone, email, live online chat, and physical offices or branches for you to visit.
- Customer reviews and ratings: Ratings and comments from past and current customers can provide valuable insights into what you can expect your experience to be like. Search online reviews and glance through a few. No lender will be perfect, but you’ll easily get a sense of any common trends in how the lender conducts business.
How I chose the best portfolio lenders
Here at The Close, our team of experts thoroughly researches companies to ensure you have the most updated and accurate information available. To help you choose the best portfolio lender for real estate, I considered the following criteria:
- Rates and fees: The total costs involved with obtaining the loan, including one-time and recurring items such as monthly payment amounts, were considered.
- Available loan programs: Lenders with the ability to finance a wider range of property types and accommodate different investment purposes were considered more favorably.
- Loan approval process: I searched for lenders with an easy pre-approval, loan application, and approval process that requires minimal documentation.
- Funding speed: When it comes to financing real estate, it’s not unusual for some lenders to take upwards of 30+ days to fund. Not everyone can wait that long, not to mention that it can be a frustrating length of time to get a decision on your loan. For that reason, I focused on selecting lenders who had the ability to fund on much faster timelines.
- Customer reviews and ratings: I chose lenders who were rated highly by customers based on third-party review sites and other reputable sources.
For more detailed information on our evaluation process, read more about The Close methodology.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Is getting a portfolio loan expensive?
It depends. In some cases, portfolio loans can be more expensive because they’re being offered to a more risky borrower, or one that is not able to get approved elsewhere. This isn’t always the case, however, as portfolio lenders generally have a greater ability to consider less traditional methods of a borrower’s ability and capacity to repay a loan.
What are the benefits of getting a loan from a portfolio lender?
A portfolio lender has much more flexibility when it comes to qualification requirements and the types of loans it can offer. This is because it does not have to worry about requirements from third-party entities or investors. As such, it also has a greater ability to issue internal credit policy exceptions for both loan approvals and loan terms.
How long does it take to get a portfolio loan?
You can get a portfolio loan in as little as 7 days. However, a timeline of 14-21 days is a bit more realistic. Keep in mind that the length of time needed can depend on many factors, such as the complexity of your loan request, the type of loan being applied for, and the lender’s total volume of loan applications from other borrowers.
What credit score do I need to get a portfolio loan?
I recommend a credit score of 680 and above. However, portfolio lenders are known for their flexibility in qualification requirements, so it’s possible to get approved with a lower credit score if you have compensating factors to help offset it. Common factors could include large financial reserves, a large down payment, or strong financial performance.
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