I checked and while USAA is popular for homes funded with VA loans it looks like you're free to choose a different company if you wanted to.I really just wanted to chime in to point out that, if you're using the regular RI Association of Realtors purchase and sale agreement then under the inspections clause (section 16 if you're using the most recent P&S) you have 10 business days after the effective date of the P&S (which is the latter of the buyer or seller signing), to back out for any reason and be able to get your deposit back.So this is a question you definitely want to resolve within that time frame.

If the timeframe ends then get a job and continue at your own pace.

Such as...Interest rate, Loan to value (LTV), also the time frame such as 15yr,20yr,or 30yr am, etc.

Also what is the time frame and approximately the cost of something like this?

Attend networking events to meet people, read up on the subject (books are inexpensive, especially when compared to training seminars), develop and refine your business plan (an ongoing process that never ends), and so forth.

Keep it simple and inexpensive, Legalzoom works fine and lawyers do too.

I work as a 1099 employee, so I was wondering what time frame I might need to be employed before getting a loan, and how long I would need to live in the area before being able to get a loan?  

So assuming you had 4k in expenses for a year it would be $20000/145000= 13.7%.

If the tenant fails to pick up, then it is abandoned and you can dispose of it.If your tenant is still in contact with you, give them a time frame to pick it up. 

I'm bringing in roughly $850 - $1200 a week.I have roughly $700 a week in expenses, including rent, groceries, minimum repayments on my roughly $10,000 worth of debt and transport but not including gas, water and electricity bills.