Some areas' permitting offices did not cope well with employees working from home.

There are many ways to find out what is your affordability; You can speak to a bank employee or use an 'express' service like online form.

We also have a few companies near me that use a relocation service for international employees but they tell me up front there is no fee.  

I have no savings at this point, but thinking about borrowing from my TSP (almost like the 401k but for military and federal government employees) for a down payment.

The lender seems like a very respectable member of the real estate community down there in Atlanta, holding positions in various groups, and he is also the owner of project management company with no less than a dozen employees, with contact and phone numbers for each, on a legit site, and he went out of his way to help me on an unrelated issue a couple years ago.

Hi Joe,An alternative for you to consider, before quitting your job, get a loan as it will be easier to get a mortgage  as an employee..

Just to be clear, I'm not looking for an employee, I see it more as some form of evolving professional relation where we help each other.

@Bob ReinhardIf one is self-employed and has no full time employees, they can establish a Solo 401(k) plan. 

Florida has launched a new initiative to make home ownership easier for law enforcement officers, firefighters, educators, healthcare professionals, childcare employees, active military or veterans and 50 other community oriented professions!

I bring this up because their income is capped relative to white collar employees, so despite the current capacity to push rents - there's only so much you can "squeeze" out of them to increase cashflow.The projected $4,000/month in cashflow 2 - 3 years from now accounts for increased rent (2022 rates) and an adjustment to my mortgage rate (I have a 10 year loan comprised of two 5 year loan periods.