this is for a FHA (neither of use have had an FHA before and we will be occupying the property)*sorry for typo in title, it wont let me edit*

We are looking to put down 10% as a down payment and have my partner occupy one of the units.

@John Neff If you are interested in developing partnerships, perfecting communication skills or raising capital as I am, three books are top of mind and I don't think have been mentioned:Raising Capital for Real Estate by Hunter ThompsonFlip The Script and Pitch Anything by Oren KlaffOf course, as mentioned already "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss is a phenomenal book and The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner is great for a new investor.Finally to take back your day as all this Real Estate Investing begins to occupy all your time: "Own the Day" by Marcus Aubrey is a great read.

The buyer either occupies it or rents it, but it's a loser in both scenarios.

View report*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.One unit is currently vacant and I would move into it for 1 year, as an owner/occupier with a 3% down payment, while hacking the other bedroom for $500/pm (4plex has 2 br each).

Nationwide the ratio of dwellings is 2/3rds owner occupied and 1/3rd non-owner occupied. 

Based on the down payment it sounds like it will be owner occupied, unless it's not a conventional loan.If owner occupied with excellent credit, solid income with low DTI, that rate is very high!!!  

When you sell a property your proceeds at closing generally will be 8-10% below the sale price due to 5-6% realtor commission, settling escrow accounts, county deed recording fees, etc.At 80% LTV you can get the mortgage insurance payment dropped, you open up the possibility of other non-FHA and non-owner occupied financing, you give yourself a cushion to sell if needed, and you reduce the possibility of being upside down if values pull back.  

In this type of agreement, you will usually be responsible for paying a percentage of the increase based on the amount of space that you occupy.3.

That will cashflow but that’s a big apartment to owner occupy.