Excellent opportunities to take advantage of while you are in Japan and possibly qualify for funding.

Most agents would be willing to sign you up for daily/weekly automated emails to show you homes that fit your criteria, almost all of which will of course be sold before you return. 

just keep knocking on doors and making phone calls, I finally got a good deal to sink my hooks in to and have your same issue, in the middle of a refi-cash out to buy this other property and the bank is throwing a wrench on the deal by asking me to pay off a car note to make the 51%DTI ratio. this bums me out but will keep pushing on until I get financing secured to nab this other property, maybe hard money to buy/fix and rent ( I am trying to avoid doing this), or maybe 203K loan, there are too many options, you need to exhaust all possibilities until you get one that fits. good luck brother.

I had it replaced two years ago and it seems the installer didn't push the copper pipe all the way into the fitting.

Look at you with your gold mine joke....you're going to fit in perfectly around here ;)Sounds like you've hit the ground running with your real estate hustle.

Is AZ/Phoenix landlord friendly or tenant friendlyAre there still properties  out there which can fit 1% rule .Are there lot of multi family homes as compared to SFH ? 

If you want more details to see if you are a good fit for the program, let me know and we can set up a phone call to discuss. 

Happy to help you out with finding which financing options would best fit your unique scenario.

@Kassie Johnston - that sounds like an excellent idea!

I am downsizing my personal residence and a condo fits my lifestyle.