Here are the Caveats though, you can only refinance to get the amount of your acquisition cost back out + roll in refinance closing costs up to 75% LTV on a non-owner occupied property and or up to 80% on an owner occupied property.If you want cash out beyond the acquisition costs, based on a higher appraised value, you must be on title for 6 months and you can do 75% LTV on a rental, and 80% on an owner occupied for conventional loans.You can do cash out on some portfolio loans immediately after purchase to as long as 6 months after purchase.

If you have a home like that, you will need a 203K loan, or hard money and hard money is not for owner occupied usually.Regarding buying at a discount, it depends.

Skora I recommend to try and exclude owner-occupied or include owner unknown along with absentee owners.

If he is helping me find a house at $240,000, giving me his trusted contact for hard money (said he will probably give me 10% with 2pts; I live in an apartment and plan to have them overlap about a month or two, is it legal for me to say I won't live there, tell the bank it will be owner occupied and hopefully get it refinanced?).

Ask your HML if you will occupy the property if they can lend on it.  

I'm in my first owner-occupied and struggling a bit with TurboTax!!  

Why do lenders allow 3.5-5% down when the property is owner occupied?

Two of the three units are currently occupied.

I have a FHA 203k that is for an owner occupied duplex. 

Two of the three units are currently occupied.