Financing an Owner-Occupied Fourplex Construction with FHA

[Nathanael Gill]

I am looking for any information the BP community might have on financing a Multi-Family construction project. Specifically, we are looking to build in the Santa Fe area and occupy one of the larger units (these are modular construction, that we should be able to build for around $125/sq foot and hopefully appraise at around $200/sq foot if the area comparables are any indication), we will easily have 10% down, and the market rental rates will make the DTI ratio favorable for even FHA loans.

My main questions would be on whether anyone has had any experience with these types of projects, and if so were there any pitfalls or unforeseen difficulties you faced in the process (this would apply to both multifamily construction or modular home construction in general). I have had some difficulty finding local lenders that even do conventional loans for multifamily construction projects with less than 25% down, so any insight you all might have on finding a lender would also be appreciated.