Older student looking for first house hack near Buffalo

[Kyle Alberry]

Hello guys! I am 26 years old going to school for Computer Science. I have until May 2022 until I graduate and I currently am in a great area paying $965 + utilities for rent. I am looking to see if maybe I can secure a house hack (duplex/triplex) in a lower quality neighborhood to pay down the majority of the mortgage so I can live rent free (or close to it). After I move I can rent out the area I am currently staying in, or sell if I dont want to do out of area management as I will most likely move out of the area for my job.

I currently am employed part time (16-20 hours per week, $19/hour) for a Fortune 50 healthcare company doing software development, and this summer I did 40 hours a week with them. I am not sure if my current internship will continue, but they brought me on because I did good work for them. I currently have federal student loans, and 12k private student loans (7-10% interest). No other debts, paid off car, ~20k available in credit cards though I dont want to carry a balance. I usually take out the max I can per semester as a refund to help offset living/food costs. I was wondering if the refund I get per semester could count towards income.

I currently have 16k cash, and will have more in January when my spring refund hits (probably an extra 8k or so), and more during tax time, and will potentially work full time during the winter break. I was wondering what my odds were of getting pre-approved for either a FHA loan (am willing to be owner occupied for at least 1 year) or a low down payment conventional loan (I have ~700 credit score).

I am flexible with the area because next semester I will be fully remote.

I am happy with any advice, and if anyone has experience in the buffalo/surrounding areas I would love to talk/go for coffee!