Strictness of owner occupied loans

[Donna R.]

Hello. We live in a very touristy area and rent our primary residence. We are looking to buy our first rental that we can use for VRBO. We looked at a place that would be great for this (occupancy in this town is pretty great). The realtor suggested that since we were local, we would qualify for special financing. However, this is most likely would be an owner occupied loan. My husband does not want to move into the place temporarily as has been suggested by friends. My question is: How strict are these loans? If we do not have another mortgage and we receive our mail there, could we get by with not living in it? I assume that an FHA would be stricter than another type of loan. I have a contact to call a loan officer but I don't want to let on too much. Thanks for your help. I'm new at this!