Meanwhile, find and qualify for the FHA owner/occupant investor loan.

Conversely, rents in most of Saint John (save some small pockets of Uptown) and au nord de la provence are considerably lower (and vacancy rates considerable higher).The homestead break for owner-occupents is considerable, but property tax on residential rental property is not {quite} double that of owner occupied properties.  

My intention was to purchase a duplex with tenants on 30-day leases so I can reside in one unit after closing and satisfy the owner-occupant FHA requirement.

If you have a tough occupant, I am less worried about the time it takes to get them out than the damage they may do while they are in the pending getting kicked out.Best practices: find an agent who works the foreclosure circuit and knows how to assess the property in terms of it's renovated value versus upset value and potential first bid price.

Multiple unit purpose built rental properties are far more likely to have the best positive cash flow and as a owner occupant you can get the best financing rates.At this point forget about appreciation, stay away from SFH as they are high risk low cash flow being home owner driven values.

We realized that one of the reasons the politicos were against these was the perception that they are draining money from hotels, and reducing occupancy tax.

Favorable as at least you might be in the area yourself occasionally, have others that might be able to at least check on it for you once in a while and also you might be able to write off the trip to check your property/see family.The duplex idea has merit as you could purchase it using owner occupant financing versus investment.

I think they are quoting you an owner occupant rate.

I have the buyers sign and notarized an occupancy affidavit to protect myself from an owner-occupied claim down the road.  

one of the challenges with developers who build student housing is their numbers work for them at an 83% occupancy.