FHA & 203K vs conventional loan for multifamily house hack

[Isaac Galli]

Question: Is an FHA or 203K loan better than a conventional loan for purchasing your first multifamily property?

Hello!

I just got off the phone with a mortgage loan officer. 

Backstory: My plan is to obtain pre-approval for a loan before speaking to a real-estate agent and looking for properties. Then, my plan is to close on a multi-family property (duplex, triplex, or fourplex) by June, and house hack it (I live in one unit and tenants live in the other units).

I was under the impression that an FHA or 203K loan would be better than a conventional loan because the government offered lower interest rates? I know that FHA and 203K loan requires PMI (private mortgage insurance), but I thought that you could skirt around the insurance by paying 20% down upfront - is this true?

Moreover, I thought that a 203K loan would be best, since it provides money for rehab.

What are your thoughts? Thank you in advance!