FHA to House Hack in Greater Boston Area (South Shore)

[Edwin Aguilar]

Hello all, 

My wife and I are looking to invest in our first multifamily home. We're currently in the early stages of the process (i.e. haven't talked to a lender). We both have good credit scores but unfortunately due to our higher education, we also have debt. We've been in stable healthcare positions for >2 years now and are looking to utilize an FHA loan to purchase our first home. As of right now, we've been reading both "First-Time Home Buyers" and "Set For Life" by Scott Trench which has been incredibly helpful - to say the least. We've also been listening to a decent amount of podcasts regarding real estate and have talked to close friends that invest in the Worcester area.

That all being said, (1) my close friends that currently invest have told me that using an FHA loan to purchase a multi-family is unreasonable in this market - how true is this? Is conventional the only way? (2) We want to purchase a home where we'd be able to cover the mortgage costs (approximately $2,000-$2,300) in case we have tenant vacancies for an x amount of time. How realistic is purchasing a home in the South Shore for under $400,000 in this market? We've also considered Framingham, MA, and certain parts of Rhode Island too. Any advice or suggestions are welcomed!

Thank you!