They are not regulated the same as bank nor are they as restrictive in their lending criteria like a bank would be.  

Here’s an excerpt from the Attorney General’s website that further explains that:“The statute does not restrict its protection to a city or county where the emergency or disaster is located.

FIFO, LIFO, etc) are not available for real estate.The technically correct term for it is "real estate held for resale", not "inventory" although pretty much everyone in the industry calls it inventory.Treatment is similar, but method of accounting is more restricted....in a nutshell.

.:)Almost all lenders require title seasoning and if they say they don't, they have restricted LTV's. 

Any special assessments could really hurt cash flow and some HOA's can put restrictions on renting out units (lease lengths or fees).

The appreciation is restricted to keep the homes affordable. 

I.e. from a financial standpoint we BENEFIT from these restrictions just as existing owners in San Francisco, LA, NYC, Cambridge have.

Once you reach this point you'll need to either start buying cash, exploring private lenders who don't have this restriction, or start trading your properties up.

Greg,With respect to the FHA 223(f) program, and other HUD loan programs that are specific to 5-unit+ multifamily transactions, the only restrictions I've ever encountered with owner rental restrictions were related to deals that married a HUD loan program with a state or federal affordability program (i.e., LITHC Transactions).

That credit rating and reputation will be vital for you.Then, I'd look for an area in the State I'm most familiar with which is no more than 3 hours from my home and which has the least restrictive planning and zoning regulations.