FHA Loan on 4-Plex...Can't be done?

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If anyone knows the answer to this question, I would really appreciate your input! 

I am helping a friend find a 4-plex to buy with an FHA loan. He is a first-time home buyer and will have no problem qualifying for the loan. I hear references to FHA loans used to buy 4-plexes all the time on BP, but here is the problem:

Every bank and credit union I talk to say that you cannot use an FHA loan to buy a 4-unit building! I have specifically asked five banks and credit unions if it is possible to use an FHA loan on a 4-plex and each of them said no. Only one of them said it could even be used on a 3-plex...and they said that was a maybe. 

Am I missing something? Are these loan officers simply wrong or is there some type of institutional requirements that are leading them to say no? 

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!   

We are in Johnson City, TN in case the state makes a difference.