Owner Occupied - How to best position myself in relation to tenants

[Garrett M.]

I am reading through Mike Butler's great book 'Landlording on Autopilot' which was recommended in one of the BP podcasts and came across a great point that may be an issue with my future plan.

Some background: I plan on purchasing my first piece of real estate in the next few months as an owner occupant in a triplex. For this question I am assuming that I will be purchasing the property with two tenants and moving into a third unit.

In the book, it is explained that you should never position yourself as the owner of the property but rather the property manager. This is a great tactic because it gives 'you' - the property manager, the luxury to check with 'you' - the owner, on any issues that come up with tenants. A great example would be if a tenant has some excuse about not wanting to pay a late fee. You - the property manager can say that you will have to check with the owner, who then says he will not waive the late fee. In this case, you- the property manager do not look like the 'bad guy' and are just doing your job to avoid getting in trouble with the 'owner'.

Would positioning myself in this capacity be advisable given that I would be living in the same building as my tenants?

-Garrett