@William Hochstedler   William any anti skimming or pre foreclosure laws in Utah... ours are quite stringent in Or and WA.. if its a primary resi..  

Future readers/do-it-yourselfers- leave the popcorn ceilings to a professional.

@Brandon Vu  it really sounds like you should sit down with an experienced real estate professional and ask all your questions. 

I want to owner-occupy a multi-unit property (I'm looking at anything up to four units), and I've already been pre-approved by a lender for an FHA loan.

I hear a lot of people say that you should have your financing in place and be pre-approved before looking for deals and securing a deal.

Be professional, friendly, but firm.

If you are in need of a professional management company that is based out of Dallas let me know and I'd be happy to refer them to you.

Tax liens, pre foreclosures with equity, absentee owners, properties that havent been sold in a long time, property in probate, reaching out to the beneficiaries or successor trustees of property put into trusts when the trustee dies, befriending a divorce attorney and asking them for leads, looking through the registry for loan modifications usually these people still cannot keep up with their mortgage.

I would welcome comments, strategies, suggestions and introductions to tax professionals regarding VR property ownership, rehabs, deductions, liabilities, etc...Thank you!

Not only is the money good, I'd pick up essential salesman and negotiation skills taking it serious.But appreciate the reply, hopefully I have some property under my belt this time next year.One more thing, did you use any business entities for asset protection on your property?