First-time home buyer financing and time frame.

[Nick Edwards]

Hi all, Relatively new here and looking at my first property. I got pre approved for a standard FHA loan. I am thinking of buying a duplex, triplex or fourplex while also buying another cheaper property to flip. I will be living in the "plex" while renting out the other units. This is all in Virginia and/or Maryland. So my questions are: 1. What do people think of this beginning strategy? 2. How long MUST one live in the property on an FHA loan like this? 3. These multi family properties don't seem to be as common around here. Might finding a lot and building a plex new be an alternative? Maybe finding a house and converting it? 4. I've read about umbrella loans. I could not buy both properties under this loan? Could I potentially get 2 loans? Any ideas? I hope I hit all the points I wanted to hit. Please share any other issues you see with this plan! Maybe others starting out can benefit from this information. Thank you everyone in advance! -Nick