2 or 3 unit/ Single Room Occupancy (SRO)

[John Yoo]

Hope someone has an experience who can shed light to my question.  I am looking at a 2 unit multi family property that was approved for SRO designation (10 bedrooms). i should be able to get a residential loan, but after conferring with the seller’s realtor, i was told that a previous buyer also sought the same but was later denied by his mortgage broker. The mortgage broker apparently told him that this type of purchase would not qualify for a residential loan and instead a commercial loan.  I like to see if anyone has had an experience with something similar.