House instructing your little dog is concerning tolerance, and encouraging feedback.

I'd also encourage you to double check on pre-payment penalties as well.

In which case your "list" of buyers will evaporate.

Thank you all for the advice and words of encouragement.

When I submit my multiple choice offers, I encourage the seller to sell the property to me as a For-Sale-By-Owner.

One thing I would encourage you to consider is rehabbing to rent.

I have to agree with a lot of the folks here - its all about doing your homework and having the courage to act.It's encouraging to see many of you described your feelings with the same languae I would use to describe mine during that time: "addicted"  "research" "the right numbers".If your pursuing a loan to make your first purchase, I would establish a timeline and work towards minimizing your debt to income ratio (if possible).

A fiscally sound city will have cash reserves which helps with vitalization projects and encouraging jobs into the city.Taking the first step is the hardest.

I just encourage them to choose a city based on overall available housing, schools, etc and then port.  

Thanks for the quick reply, Julie - very encouraging to hear that it's an avenue worth pursuing.I used to be concerned about my personal furniture (which is not inexpensive) but after I added up the opportunity costs of NOT utilizing my primary residence as a STR in my absence, all my concerns about it vanished.