Newbie Financing Question!?

[Alex Barnett]

Hello all,

I am interesting in buying my very first investment property with an FHA loan. I am hoping to buy an owner occupied duplex...

If I was approved for $140,000 on a single family home by my mortgage person, would I be approved for more than that (say 175-200k) on a duplex since I would be generating income from the half that I wasn't living in? This is going to have to be an FHA loan since I don't have enough money to comfortably to put 20% down on that large of a purchase.

Also, is it easy to obtain an FHA 203k loan for a duplex? I see a lot of duplexes in my area that are in great areas but are just outdated on the inside. It would be awesome to have an extra $10,000 or so to update the inside of the home I would be living in.

Thanks in advance for your responses and I apologize if this question has already been posted.  -Alex