I am born and raised in this area so I feel I am qualified to tell you what is ******** and what is truth.

With several thousand investors in their portfolios, I'm betting it matters not about their map skills. 

They will be able to quickly give you a sense of what you qualify for and -- if you don't qualify -- how to go about saving and paying down debts to qualify.Any good agent should have a list of trusted agents. 

Another thought: if I am not mistaken, you can buy in Ypsilanti Township and qualify for a rural development loan with 0% down.

I am also assuming your RE investment activity actually qualifies for the deduction. 

My question has to do with qualifying for hard money/private money. 

I'm moving back to the states soon with my family and we're planning on investing in real estate in the near future, including possibly house hacking.We have no debts and have some money saved as well as a bit of inheritance.What do you recommend doing to get good credit and how long will it take before I can qualify for a mortgage?

As you get going in real estate use your skills with numbers to your advantage but work hard not to over analyze everything or you will never get anywhere. 

@Jason Sirois no one has mentioned this yet, but if you’re changing industries (tech to RE broker/agent), you’re going to have a difficult time qualifying for a loan until you have 2 years of solid tax returns.I wasn’t sure if your goal was to become an investor or to strictly focus on being an agent/broker, so perhaps you have already thought about this. 

I’m a union carpenter, so I have some knowledge and skills in being able to rehab a property.