Are there guidelines to choosing Lenders, Bankers or Mortgage Brokers?

[Benjamin Blackburn]

Hello BP,

I'm wondering if there are any guidelines to go by when choosing the lender?  Are there certain questions I should be asking?  Obvious red flags?  What am I looking for?

I've been looking into FHA loans since I'm a first time home buyer and I'm really liking the 3.5% down.

My plan for now is to purchase a SFH here in Houston that didn't need too much work but not brand new, live in it for awhile to build equity and then refinance to buy another, while making the first one a rental.

Does that even sound like a good way to get started in RE?

Any thoughts would be highly appreciated... Thank you!