House-Hack Domicile Requirements

[Zachary Wilder]

I am gearing up for my first house-hack but have run into something that COULD be a problem. For my full time job, I may be required to spend time outside of the country in 1 month intervals on a project. These trips could happen 3-4 times over the course of the year (so potentially a quarter of the year).

I understand to achieve a 3.5% down FHA loan, I am required to live in that property for at least 1 year to avoid any legal tie ups. Do I need to be physically living in my primary residence for 365 days? Or do I have the flexibility of traveling for work, and simply keeping this as my primary residence when I'm not away for business is sufficient to satisfy the 1 year requirement.

[Joe Splitrock]

@Zachary Wilder this is fine. It needs to be your home that you return to when not traveling. It is where your bed and belongings are stored. It is your mailing address, utility address and tax address. Only issue I can see is if you maintained another residence, but if it is just hotels and temporary housing, no issue.