The larger the bank the more red tape you have to deal with.I found it best to use small local lenders in the area.Good Luck.

@Kevin PiwowarskiHey Kevin, if you’re bold enough after meeting them…ask them if you could stop over and see their present location.

They indicated that the market is red-hot, there is very little inventory in our area, and houses are selling in a day or two (I already knew all this), They also indicated their commission rate is 5%.

Based on the posts I see on a few real estate groups I'm in, it seems like the market is red-hot all over right now.

I'm getting some of the red flags I've read about in the BiggerPocket books about the agent.

And when it comes to mortgage interest, will it be a red flag if I manually enter a number that is .85 of the value on my 1098 form? 

I was going to buy a rental in Lima but found out that it consistently needed repairs so the potential $400 monthly cash flow was running the current landlord in the red by $60/month.Is there any other areas such as Indianapolis, Chattanooga or parts of Florida I should be looking at.

Home also has many issues with unpermitted additions that have been red flagged by county building dept.  

Home also has many issues with unpermitted additions that have been red flagged by county building dept.

Have a look at some more useful information here:https://wolfstreet.com/2021/03/24/fha-mortgage-delinquencies-hit-17-5-in-30-metros-over-20-the-other-side-of-the-red-hot-housing-market/The constant feed of cheerleading articles being posted by real estate “experts” claiming there will never be a drop in real estate is exactly the psychological sign that those of us that actually experienced the last major crash know to look for in an impending crash.