No vacant units in tri-plex

[Sri L.]

Hi there,

I am a new BP member, 29yrs old, female and I am in the process of buying my first rental property/home. I am planning to use the FHA loans and therefore need to live in the multi family. Below are some questions on the one property that has some potential:

1) The listed property I am looking at is fully occupied. What are my options using the FHA loan? Can I move in after one of the lease runs out, is that acceptable to the FHA? I am yet to make an offer on the property but wanted to check on how this might work if I do use the FHA loan which specifies this has to be my primary residence.

2) I checked market rents in that area and it seems like this tri plex "actual" rents in the MLS listing(confirmed by listing agent) are atleast $300 lower than the rest of the area.

-The sq ft space is 50sqft smaller than an average 1BR for example. (I dont know the sq footage of each unit yet)

-Neighbourhood is great

-1parking space per unit.

-It is managed by a property manager (i.e. likely seller is out of state).

My question is, is it likely that the property manager just doesnt care, and rented it lower than market rent? What other questions would you ask to determine any red flags?

3) The property manager made $2000+ last year managing this property and is also the listing agent for the seller. Do you think he has a vested interest in selling to someone who will continue to use his services as opposed to me (who will want to live in it and manage it myself). How do I tackle this?

4) Is it normal for the listing agent to not show the insides of the units without an actual offer being made, because there are tenants living there currently?

5) In the "actual annual expenses" $7000+ was listed as miscellaneous, which was the highest line item in the expenses. How do I get to the bottom of this? ask my agent to ask the listing agent (who is also the property manager).

Thanks!