You should be able to pay off the loan anytime during that period, without any sort of penalty.

If you are paying cash for the STR this seems pretty easy. 

MUCHHHH better and of course that leaves us with plenty of room to pay the mortgage payment so the lender is happy.Btw, I just wrote the Co-Living book for BP that comes out in Spring, you can sign up for it here!

One question that you may not want to post here for legal reasons, is how much are you paying your PMC?

You’re paying too much for each 1/4 point discount.

A) pay 1/2 the remaining rent. 

Two, you'll have a much easier time obtaining a mortgage product if you have a track record of W2 income.In the meantime, continue implementing the strategies you mentioned: save religiously, build your credit, pay any existing debt owed, etc.

I pay one CPA about $5k yr. 

RentecDirect had MORE than I needed, so why pay for it?

Stessa is getting ready to move from $20 per month to $35 per month unless you pay annually.