Selling a little triplex I nursed back to health from a lot of years of bad management and neglect.  

This loan payment was amortized for 30 years to make it affordable.

Average tenancy is over 3 years per unit.Seller used to have 9 units and recently sold two units to the tenants. one for 32K and one for 35K. he wants to sell the rest all together due to health reasons.No deferred maintenance to past due HOA dues.

By the same token, being an informed consumer is important to your financial health.  

However, with not having much savings, I am wondering if it is wiser to get an FHA loan with 3.5% down and the required mortgage insurance premium (1.75% I believe)  or live in a rental until I can afford the 20% down payment to reduce my interest payment on a conventional loan.

If you can't afford a few grand then you really are never going to make it anyway.even if you are out their on your own to be proficient you need to spend money on your own advertising etc. access to MLS  and used correctly alone will pay for the license many times over.. and you never know when you may become a rock star agent top end agents make far more money than 99% of wholesalers you will listen to on this site especailly the part time investors  LOL.. they are part time for a reason.. they are not RE professionals.

“While rising prices are lifting home owners out of negative equity, the strong price recovery amid the modest growth in incomes is also making homes less affordable and dampening demand.”Source: “REALTORS® Expect Price Growth Moderate in Next 12 Months,” National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook blog (Oct. 5, 2015)

If you can't afford to do this (i.e., you need this money to live from), it sounds like quite a risky proposition.Anyway, at the end of the day, there really aren't any rules, only general guidelines and suggestions.

I have been afforded a lot of up and downs highs and lows with doing this level of investing.

If I were you I would just go and have a talk with the guy, find out if he is just cheap and thinks hes not hurting anyone or if he is broke and this is the only way he can afford power.Maybe just go and explain to the guy that what he is doing is stealing and if he doesn't stop and get the power turned on in his name you will have to take this to a more serious level.