Additionally, Fannie Mae favors owner occupants. 97% or more owner occupants are purchasing with FHA Loans, which requires the dwelling to be in particular shape.

Easiest access to sellers is MLS listings, so you're competing with a lot of entry level buyers now, and even owner occupant buyers.

IMO, for owner-occupant buyers, this is the time to make offers on short sales and wait them out.

Probably good to design in a chase or just run likes for future split AC while walls are open now.There's one big 4bd/4ba unit that I'm trying to position as attractive for a future owner occupant should I decide to later sell, which is mainly the unit I'm dealing with here.

I'm an owner-occupant here in Syracuse of a two-unit (househacking), and it seems I have the opposite situation of yours in a sense.

Parking is intended for personal vehicles in working order, and not intended for storage and use of recreational vehicles or work equipment such as trailers, equipment used in construction, landscaping, farming, fishing, forestry, or other occupations, boats, campers, all-terrain vehicles, and snowmobiles, or non-operational vehicles.

In all of my REO work I never had one occupant super pissed at me, even after an eviction.

That would certainly maximize your VA owner occupant benefits.

fha.org and here's an article on ithttp://library.hsh.com/articles/homeowners-repeat-buyers/occupancy-fraud-risks-not-worth-the-rewards.html

@Michael Oldani , the best thing you can do is buy a 3-4 unit building with an FHA owner-occupant loan with 3.5% down payment.