Mortgage Preapproval Questions

[Alexis Birmingham]

Hello Everyone! 

I am going to be buying a multi-family home to house hack. I spoke with a loan officer and am in the process of being preapproved for a loan, but I have some concerns to resolve before moving forward in the process... I know the intelligent investors here can help me far more than any internet search.  

For some background information: I am 23, live at home with my parents, and have never bought a home. My plan was to use an FHA loan to purchase a duplex or triplex. The loan officer I have been speaking with is someone who reached out to me after I filled out a form on realtor.com. I had originally just wanted to ask a professional the questions that I had, but the loan officer said everything sounded good and we could go right on getting me preapproved. Amongst my excitement, I uploaded all of my W-2's and tax forms. Now, I just need to sign the preapproval disclosure forms before proceeding. With that being said, I do not want to simply get a home loan from the first person who reached out to me.

I am wondering if I should be getting prequalified for a loan instead of preapproved? I want to talk to more than one lender, but I do not want my credit score to be impacted by having it checked multiple times. Also, what happens if you apply for a loan on a mortgage company website? 

Furthermore, the loan officer I spoke with would like to have me approved for a conventional loan with 3% down to purchase the home rather than FHA. I know this would save money on mortgage insurance, but are there any other benefits? I am planning on living there for a year and repeating the process.

Lastly, any advice for finding the best mortgage lender would be extremely helpful! 

Thank you SO much in advance!