The longer you wait to report it, the lower your odds of getting the money.This is why I never use checks or debit cards, unless it is the only option.

What do you mean by pre-paids?

Use cash or debit for everyday purchase. 

They will lose money on the mortgage for a mere opportunity to pitch you on their asset/wealth management, and also their car loan, and also their checking account, and also their savings account, and also credit cards and debit cards, and so on... that's what cross-selling is and how it works.

You should get your money back and then move on - application fees/credit checks, any deposits, prepaid rent, etc...

Simply put, points are prepaid interest on the loan.

My long-term goal and ultimate desire is to become financially independent, however, short-term I want to get myself and my family out of debit and be able to comfortably take care of our bills.

I'll give you a quick run down on the closing costs from a duplex I purchased for 250K:Loan origination charge: $750 (this may be 1% of the PP, however we went through a credit union on this one)Appraisal fee: $275 (I've seen this fee go closer to $600 on some purchases )Credit Report: $11Tax Service Fee: $70Flood Cert: $9Title Services and Lenders Title Insurance: $1,520Owners Title insurance: $271Government Recording Charges: $92Transfer Taxes: $519Your pre-paids and taxes will depend on how you set it up. 

Problem is the expenses, so(GSI - GSI*0.3 ) * 10 is a rational price:the 10 is a Gross Rent Multiplier and arbitrary; but reasonable range is 8-12GSI*0.3 is an assumed expense ratio of 30%; higher will be high maintenance costsso GSI * 70% * GRM of your choice = Purchase Price.If you get a GRM > 15 (I've see as hi as 19) the seller is in trouble and over extended in the debit+profits

(We'll be using the BP calculators to present this information quickly)All loans will be assumed for 1 Year at 5%APR; If the loan is pre-paid the 5% will still be due.