Maybe you hang back for another 6 months before relocating so you can meet the full 2 yr requirement.  

,I generally agree with your aversion to debt - I am learning more and more about leverage.What do you think about financing your first $100K property at 20% (ish) down - but hanging on to the rest of the cash that you have?

Yep, that's all you need to do, work with someone who hangs illegal signs on public property.

What good is sterling credit and even decent terms (fixed,15-year conventional, around 4%) when delays and process hang up deals, especially since few really know the new rules?

or hang up?  

Keep active here and you will start to get the hang of all the terms.

I also order it in a size that will not fit in a wallet, so that they have to hang on to it and not just put it in their wallet and forget about it.

Then become part of the NAR and local association all while looking for a broker to hang my license with.

Most surrounding areas are hanging around 1%.

There are a lot of newbies but there are also seasoned pros and if you hang around a while you can learn a lot, I know I have.