I live in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia more specifically Hedgesville, and for now this is my main area of focus for investing.

My wife and I have been entertaining a vacation property in Eastern Tenn or NC.

I am currently serving in the Arizona Army National Guard and will be ending my 9 year career in December.

Hi All,I am impressed there are so many aussies on this site, Loans to foreign nationals without permanent residency and credit history is a challenge with Banks, but not with certain investments funds.

You have banks ( local,regional,national), credit unions, life insurance companies, & CMBS lenders.Who does what loan depends on location, asset type, and size of the loan.

I would think her book would be applicable nation wide but it is limited to her state, so further investigation and due diligence is still warranted. 

I wondered why the City of South Bend would hire an out of town company for the study until I looked at their national client list which includes over 450 reports for builders, developers, cities, non-profits, planners, investors, lenders, small companies and development subsidiaries of several Fortune 100 companies.You can read the report here https://www.southbendin.gov/sites/default/files/fi...The report is mainly about the residential market potential of downtown South Bend but the gist of it as it relates to your question is that on page 5 it states that approximately 60% of the households in the entire City of South Bend are owner occupied and 40% are tenant occupied.The US Census Bureau data confirms this with their latest data showing appx 59% owner occupants and 41% tenant occupied here:  https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/...

I have used several title companies and have the following requirements:  1) easy to work with, 2) make me a priority and move the process efficiently, 3) good communication, 4) competitive fees, and 5) mobile close service.If you are military or have someone in the direct family who is/was you might consider One Nation Title (formerly First Republic). 

According to an article that I was just reading on the National Association of Realtors site, "home buyers have purchased detached single-family homes more than any other type of home in the last 35 years.

Your best opportunity will be a local (ie not a national) bank who will service their own loans (aka that's a portfolio lender).