FHA and Owner Occupancy

[Joey Gorombey]

Can someone explain owner occupancy and lending to me? I had a real estate agent say that FHA loans can't be used to finance duplexes because of something called "owner occupancy" and that you don't occupy the full property, you only occupy half of it -- they also say they haven't done an FHA loan on a multi-family property. 

From my own research (including articles here at biggerpockets) it seems like you CAN do an FHA loan on a full duplex, provided you live in one of the units. That's the whole point of house hacking, right? Move in for very little?

[Lucia Rushton]

@Joey Gorombey. And I would be honest with her, you are looking to work with an investor friendly agent. Not all agents are created equal; there is a completely different vocabulary and strategy for investors. Again I would be honest up front so she doesn’t hear it from someone else that you are going to work with a different agent.