The Fannie Mae guidelines are available on-line from Allregs.com and yes they can be read.

I agree with noobdog...most of what's you really need to learn will be retained during practical experience.

Search online and this forum. the information is out there just need to find it. also ask friends and family if they ever purchased some items in the past and read those... i told my parents about my plans and my mother bought a couple of programs in the past where i learned some howto stuff... also on these forums there is a forum dedicated to rate books and other investment tools to see if they are worth it. do more online searching than anything... make sure u dont buy something for it just to collect dust. find out everything for free while u can and make a decision if you really need to buy a book. check out creoline.com also. it's a creative online investing site they advertise products there too but i jus read the free articles.

Does anyone have any recommendations when it comes to lenders (specific banks, credit unions, online, etc.)?

What better way to capture buyers than to offer them a ca$h reward just for purchasing a home through our Mortgage Company... just our way of saying "thanks" (Rewards are between $1,000-$10,000 depending upon the purchase price of home) We offer in-house underwriting with the ability to broker out when it best suites the buyer, online application available to buyers 24/7 @ http://www.deekumapayi.maverickmortgage.com, professional and timely service, on time closings - no stress process for buyers and realtors, we also offer Mavericks "WOW" customer satisfaction, integrity, knowledge of products, and HONESTY.

None of this makes any practical sense to me.

Some county clerks put the public records online, which really saves on time.

I found a home in Wichita Falls, TX --- and its priced significantly below their tax appraisal (which i can look up online) - its also below per sqft what other houses in the immediate vicinity are selling for.

Unless they have practical skills in the specific domain why ask them.

I'm a loan officer, real estate agent, investor and anything that can make me some money.I'm just looking to network online a little bit, I mean if mostly everybody is online looking for real estate and mortgages, why not be there and give them a helping hand right.