FHA Multifamily Loan Pre Approval

[Kimberly Donofrio]

Hi!

I'm (very preliminarily) interested in the concept of house hacking a duplex with an FHA Multifamily loan. I'm also very new to real estate investing overall and had some questions about first steps!

In understand that usually an FHA loan requires a minimum 3.5% down payment. I'm interested mostly in duplexes and understand I need to occupy one unit for a year so I think I qualify there. What I'm curious about is using tenant rents as qualifying income for the loan.

Some of my research has shown that I can use 75% of the projected rental income as qualifying income for the loan. My question is— if the property is new (no active/prior leases) and I have no history of rental income, is an appraisal required before I can use the projected rents as qualifying income? If an appraisal is required, am I the one who pays for it? And lastly, if I am the one paying for it, do I have to pay for an appraisal of every duplex I would be potentially interested in buying before I can secure an FHA multifamily loan? Any information you all could provide would be helpful. Thanks for any help you can offer in advance!