Portfolio Loan Insights
May 13, 2010 
2 Comments
Hi Susan,
Thank you very much for the great information on portfolio loans. I can learn a lot from you. I meet lots of investors but none of them talk about portfolio loans. If you don’t mind, I have some questions.
Do I need good FICO score to qualify for this loan?
Do I need to have reserve funds?
Do I need to have 10, 20, 30 percent down?
Do they need collateral?
How long should LLC or Corporation need to be seasoned?Thanks, Alvin
Hi Alvin, Thanks for the note. No one talks much about portfolio loans because no one really understands them. Except me. 
Portfolio lenders will look at the underlying collateral which is the residential or commercial property you want to finance to answer most of these questions. Unlike conventional lenders that have to follow Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac rules, portfolio lenders have no set rules to follow so all the portfolio lenders will have varying underwriting criteria.
I’d say to be in good shape for financing a residential investment property with a portfolio lender you should have a credit score of at least 640. Your LLC does NOT have to be seasoned at all and the reserve requirement is no where near the 6 months’ PITI per financed property that conventional lenders are requiring. Start contacting some portfolio lenders and see for yourself. If you need more help, check out my Portfolio Loan Blueprint course.— Susan
This really sounds great, and I am very interested in learning more. Can someone tell me if you need to qualify for a specific personal DTI percent to qualify for a Portfolio Loan? Or, can the income from the property be enough to qualify (if it cashflows enough to pay for the mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc.)? I have a good credit score, but no personal income at this time.
Thanks so much for any response!
Typically the cash flow from the property qualifies but unless you have some reserves qualifying with no income at all may be a problem for some lenders.