I have to say that this sounds fishy....is he bringing anything to the table to qualify as a " co-owner, owner occupant?"...

This will also tell you what the  university educates students on regarding off campus housing.Check out if there are local ordinances regarding noise , unrelated occupancy limits.

He also said in a story I listened to last night that multiple units of about 18 units can still make debt payments, hire Property Managers and do not have to have 100% occupancy to mmake debt payments and smaller complexes are just as difficult as single unit houses.All neighborhoods are different and the demand for houses as rentals can provide you with an answer.  

As a owner occupant, although prices are higher, things still remain affordable in most areas and interest rates remain low.

In my opinion, the absolute easiest way to get started INVESTING (buying rental property) is to buy a home (Duplex,Triplex, Fourplex if possible) as an owner occupant with a low interest rate and low down payment -  live in the property for a time then convert it to your first rental property and go out and buy another home as an owner occupant to live in for a time ... etc, etc,-- you should be able to do that a few times before you considered and investor and required to provide a 20% down payment.  

My standard business model is to purchase value add properties, perform the renovations, stabilize occupancy and then sell in 3-5 years.

I'll just post the link instead of reiterating what was said in the thread :)https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/49/topics/114510-fha-owner-occupancy-requirements---less-than-one-year

Buying a 2-4 unit as an owner occupant will get you the best deal to start if you are planning on moving here, this will also allow you to establish a rental portfolio in US.But you can still get financing as foreign national(on a visa), just with lower LTV's.  

Start at market value and then discount based on occupancy and repair costs.  

You don't want to build things that wont pass occupancy.