If you live in your apartment complex, what mortgage can you get?

[Jason Vannoy]

Hello, I am going to school and would like to buy. There are three attached town homes for sale individual or all together. My question is if I bought all three (the entire complex) and lived in one with the other two being investment, could I get a standard home mortgage opposed to a investment mortgage? If I purchase a home as an "investment property" it is an assist and impacts the amount of loan I could get. I was thinking if I live in one and rent two could I get away with that not being an investment property? also how would that work with a duplex?

[Linda Weygant]

Great question and I think it depends on how the properties are listed with the assessor. If they are all listed as the same property, then you've got a multi-family property and you can likely qualify it as a personal mortgage and maybe even get FHA financing on it (providing it is 4 units or less)

If they are all separate properties, then you've got 3 single family homes and it doesn't really qualify as a multi-unit building and I think you'll be looking at one personal purchase and two investment purchases.