Depends on the lender. Just phone them and ask.

Only thing I can think of is to get a contract on the one they are selling with a long (maybe 3 month) settlement. Then they should have plenty of time to find another one to buy if the one they want has sold already. On the contract on the one they buy, they can make it subject to sale of their current property. If they already have a contract, that shouldn’t be a problem for anyone.

Or, they could try and get a contract now on the one they want with that condition if the vendor will allow it. Get a long settlement and hope they can sell the current property in the meantime. Nothing to lose if they can’t.

I think bridging loans are much cheaper now than they used to be, so that might still be an option. Maybe one of the mortgage brokers here could shed some light on that subject.

Well, everyone’s different. With me it was a case of “just do it”. I jumped in headfirst after reading a total of 2 books (I read one of them twice), and made a very successful first purchase, followed by a second (cash flow +ve, after reading Steve’s book plus a few others), and am currently negotiating my third. So, I’m still a beginner but once you get that first one, things start to flow. Experience is definitely the best teacher. My advice would be to buy well within your means to reduce the stress levels when you start out.

Zeallous, get out there and look at properties and talk to a broker to see what you can afford.
You could also search the old posts for info on the order of buying.