Two or three. And no, lenders do not all offer the same rates or fees, so some comparison is smart; four or five quotes mostly buys you confusion. More quotes means more sales pitches. Buyers with eight quotes usually end up more lost than buyers with two, because they have been told conflicting things by people trained to win the call. Who you call matters as much as how many. High-volume outbound shops tend to route you to call-center loan officers armed with a rebuttal for every objection rather than questions about your situation, and that is how you get a quote that misses something basic, like whether the property is owner-occupied, which can throw the rate off by a wide margin. Look for someone who listens and gives feedback before pitching. When you do compare, compare complete Loan Estimates, or at least the Section A lender fees, never the headline rate alone; a lower rate can hide added points or fees. Gather your quotes the same day, since rates move daily, and check them against a public benchmark, like the Mortgage News Daily rate table right here on our site, so you know where the market actually sits. If you would rather skip the call-center gauntlet, our team handles the loan directly, never a referral, and shops nearly 100 investors on your behalf. The free Roadmap conversation, about 20 minutes, gets you a real quote built on your real numbers.