Jim Rossi

This can very from State to State but typically an agent is sponsored by a Broker(Managing Broker) which gives them the ability to perform real estate services on behalf of the Brokerage they have an Independent Contractors Agreement with. In some States Broker and agent mean the same thing and they work under a Managing Broker.

When you see contingent associated with a property online it typically means a contract was entered into by the seller to sell the property to a buyer who now has first option to purchase the property, but the word contingent can mean a lot of things, it can be contingent on the buyer having to sell or close on a property before they can buy, contingent on financing, contingent on a home inspection or any other terms that were negotiated in the contract.

Absolutely, FHA offers an owner occupied mortgages for properties up to four units. Guidelines for condition apply as with any FHA financed purchase but not that there is also a guideline that 75% of rents based on local market rents must cover the payment whether or not they are used for qualifying. The appraiser will enter local market rents as part of their appraisal.

In a normal real estate market with stable interest rates, lenders will typically give a 60 day pre-approval because usually none of their information used to generate the pre-approval can be more then 60 days old but with fluctuating interest rates, its best to get it updated prior to entertaining the idea of going out shopping for a house. A good lender will get you an updated pre-qual within 48 hours unless they determine that there are some outstanding circumstances that need to be clarified first.

It all depends on your circumstances, the myth that you need 20% down is just to avoid Private Mortgage Insurance which is required on loans with less down. There are as low as 3% down conventional, 3.5% down FHA, zero down VA mortgages available along with State & local first time buyer programs to assist with down payments and closing cost depending where you are buying at. Most of these programs are based on income, check with a local lender familiar with the area.