Granted, If your househack ends up being  an owner occupied duplex in either state, your risks are lower as some of the same rules don’t apply to you as an owner occupant, but it’s something to be aware of, especially if you plan to eventually move out and become a non occupant landlord.

I want to preface this by saying you should definitely speak with your loan officer about this or start looking for one who's well versed in owner-occupied investment strategies. 

It seems like this would allow you to do owner occupied (if you intended to live in the property) and also eliminate the down payment requirements a lender would require because you already "own it", then have the previous owner record/hold a second for the remainder. 

The 3 of 5 exclusion on your personal residence only applies to a portion of the residence that you occupy.

The mortgage on primary residence indicates you will occupy as property for 1 year.

When Boston restricted STRs to owner adjacent or owner occupied and forced Airbnb to remove illegal listings off their platform, it took 3000 units off the STR market.

Hi All, Im looking to owner occupy a duplex property and keep as much cash in my pocket as possible. 

Though, a low down payment to lock in an owner occupied rate should not set you back too much if you wanted to blend the two strategies.  

Best of Luck, The 1 year doesn’t apply to when/if you are allowed to transfer title…that is the required occupancy period when buying with an owner occupied loan.  

I worked with a client who bought a 100% occupied center, only to have 50% of the tenants default within 3 months.