Out of State Investing & Lending Before Hiatus?

[Kyle Murphy]

Hello fellow BPers! New to the site and RE investing, but loving the wealth of information that is provided here. I have been living and working in San Francisco, CA for 2 years. I lived in Tampa Bay, FL for 9 years prior to my move, and all of my family is still there. I want to invest in a tri/quadplex this year. I have a relatively good credit score (780) and 20k in student debt. a good. I make a decent salary for the Bay area, have a good amount of savings and don't have many expenses outside of rent and student loan payment. The issue is the girlfriend and I will be quitting our jobs come January and traveling abroad for 4-5 months in SE asia/ NZ, to teach CPR and basic medical training (Volunteering). I am not sure if it makes sense to invest in a MFR now and get a solid PM and tenants, or to wait until we get back and invest. I feel as though upon coming back they will frown upon our hiatus, and it will prolong the approval process for a loan. I will not have any issue getting a job upon coming back to the states. I spoke with a lender in the SF area and he is willing to work with me. I haven't gotten approved yet, but he said the pre-approval is good for 90 days. My credit union from FL will not work with me due to not living in FL anymore. I am still calling around in FL and CA to find the best terms and rate. Any information is greatly appreciated, sorry for the abundance of questions. Thank you in advance!

So my Questions are:

1) Should I buy the MFR before we leave?

2) Should I wait until we are back to invest?

3) Should I get lending from a FL based lender or San Francisco Lender? Any recommendations for a lender in either area?

4) Will the scoring model they use to pull credit for pre-approval affect my credit score?

5) If approved would it be best to put minimum down payment 3-5% or 20%?