But if you can walk into a local office you are probably at least one step ahead of where you are now.I can see paying a minor fee up front - (maybe a few hundred dollars) - but most lenders charge points against your loan amount (ie.

I've seen this many times, last month we had someone from fort still in OK to the JBLM Lewis Mcchord and that resulted in a higher BAH (more expensive market) but also because of promotion in Rank from lieutenant to captain.Just make sure you figure out the approximate increase in pay and if it will be non taxable because you can also gross up your non taxable portions of your pay 125% or 1.25X as well (usually its just the BAS/BAH but not your base pay).This will allow you to figure out your borrowing power ahead of time. 

House hacking in Plano/Frisco will definitely put you far ahead.

The one thing I don't wanna do is rush this process !

Or should I interview them, walk through properties with them, review their deals and find only one to go ahead with? 

I would make sure you are educated and have talked to people with experience with what you are trying to do - obviously there are potential obstacles that I would prepare for ahead of time but the high-level idea is a good one - add value to a property and live for free while hopefully using the additional rent money to pay your mortgage while your house appreciates.

It is important for sellers to put their best foot forward, pricing ahead of the market and putting in the extra effort to ensure their home looks great.What remains to be true is that life changes happen and people find themselves needing to buy and sell real estate regardless of the changing market.

You're already ahead of the game!

Dave Savage, as a visitor....do we need to call ahead before we attend the FFREIA meetings?

Second, as @Heather Hatcher mentioned.. go ahead and start building your sphere.