SFR Designs For Rentals

[Kevin C.]

I am considering building a owner occupied / rental property in southern California on a lot that is zoned for single family housing. Ideally I would prefer to build multi-family on a lot zoned for multifamily but at this time such a project seems out of my budget. I am curious to what extend other builders have optimized SFR for renting out rooms / privacy. For example, as opposed to building a typical 3 bedroom 2 bath home why not build a 3 bedroom 3 bath with minimal shared living spaces that is optimized for renting to 3 separate occupants. Think mini studio apartments inside of a home. Shared spaces would be limited to kitchen and laundry. In addition to a main house designed in this fashion I would consider adding an accessory dwelling unit that could be rented out.

From what I can gather I would need to owner occupy this property in order to rent out rooms in most cities. If anyone has heard or designed property with these intentions I would be curious to hear about design decisions / ideas and overall feasibility.

Additional Info (**Likely warrants a separate post): Looking into FHA construction loans to finance the project. I know there are limitations when using FHA loans. Would there be any issues with using FHA if I have an intention of renting out rooms and I design / optimize the house for such. Potentially I would have to live in the property by myself for a year if I used FHA, not sure of all the limitations. Thanks.