Investment property vs primary residence?

[Sooyeon Kwon]

Hello,

i am first time home buyer so if I sound too ignorant, please dont mind me. So, whats the definition of primary residence? Is there a certain amount of time I need to live there for the loan purposes? Im curious because Im in the process of putting in offers for some homes that I like but my lease isnt up for my condo Im renting now. So in case I get penalized for early termination, Im considering to rent out the house I end up purchasing for about half a year until im ready to move in. 
so from the lender’s point of view, would they consider it as an investment property? Or if I just change my address to the new home and ask the tenants to give my mails from time to time, would that be ok? 
So what measure do the lenders take to check if the house Im purchasing is my primary residence or not?