@Carlos Martinez- 1) if you have  no property yet and  are trying to get pre approved - and  trying to decide on a lender to use for this - you DO NOT  need to have the  credit pulled  yet  2) contact whatever lenders  you want on the same day and  provide the same  criteria  ( price / loan amt / credit score/ loan program ) and  ask  for   quotes  from them   and  any other  questions you have  3)   if any are not willing or able to  provide quotes - take them off your list  4) make a  decsion on one lender from the feedback  received and proceed with the one  lender for the  formal  pre approval and  have them pull the  formal  tro merge  credit report  and provide them with all your data ( paystubs / bank statements  / w2s  etc ....)   5) once pre approved -  begin to aggresively  house  hunt  6) when a  property is  found and you get into contract - you can  cost compare the lender  you are  pre approved with  with any  other lender and make final decision to proceed with rate lock with the lender you choose 

At that point I become the second set of eyes instead of the sales person who tells them this is a good deal (the last thing I want to be), maybe run a formal CMA, so we have the data to confirm what we both think.

Some questions: Do you currently self-manage and the question is whether to form a formal company for it?

If you do buy together, make sure to create a formal partnership agreement that covers things like what to do when one of you wants to sell and the other doesn't, what happens if your sister stops wanting to live in a house-hack, and the like.

DBA generally don't have the same legal liability protection as a formal entity.

And then you may sign a loan application with them, you may pay some fees, rate lock, etc. but there is no formal term sheet.Therefore its an important distinction among lenders--s how long does it take to typically close from various stages?

There is no formal process you can go to there are just guidelines.  

You should begin to establish a process for evaluating your rental market, your advertising, process for interviewing tenants including a formal series of questions.

If your property management agreement states that the management company will do certain things within certain time frames and then they do not follow through on those things, it is grounds for cancelling the agreement and depending on what it is, possible grounds for a formal complaint with the licensing authority.

Suggesting that you signed formal documents on behalf of someone else will get you into trouble.