FHA Loan Theoretical (Garage as extra living-space!)

[Glenn Gillen]

Interested in trying the FHA loan route to acquire first investment property. I understand that the property must be occupied for 1-year, and mixed reviews as to whether rooms can be rented out during that time period.

  The following is probably a dumb question, but I'm very interested in hearing expert advice or opinions on the subject! So here goes...

  Assuming that you can rent out other rooms while occupying one room in a multi-family property (i.e. duplex), would it be possible to live in the garage (not sure about the legal process of converting garage into actual living space) and still qualify the 1-year owner occupancy requirement for FHA? 

  I'm thinking about parking my camper in the garage, and if I could live in it while maxing out the other rooms, I could really maximize the house hack. I'm already thinking that the vehicle creates an issue, since it's technically not part of the house...willing to convert garage to living space in that case!