My primary concerns are: it’s a rather small town and I think somewhat limited applicant pool to fill the units. the current owner pays water and electricity - I’ve asked for recent costs which the realtor is in the process of getting but it did not sound like a substantial amount.

spoke with my lender today and we agreed on allowing me to buy a multi-family home with a primary Resident Conventional loan using 10% down. of course, I would have to house hack the property the first year, meaning I would rent all units except one of the units " the one I would live in".

@Alex Gonzalez hey there Alex, are talking about getting one on a primary residence or on an investment property?

From a mortgage perspective, I'm not sure if I'd have the ability to do a primary residence mortgage if the plan would be to live in it part of the year and rent it out the other?

I am interested in multi units in SoCal as my first deal since it knocks out having a primary residence and a rental in one property but think more broadly when it comes to out of state investing. 

It's a very common misconception but you can have other properties and still buy a primary residence FHA.

So far from what I've seen, it had to have been his primary residence for that to have worked.

A minimum down payment (less than 20% down) mortgage is structured as your primary residence.

That is how a great number of ma and pa landlords cashflow, they bought a primary residence a decade ago and now they can rent it out and cashflow nicely.  

My Goal: - Purchase a Multi family house in the DC area (inside of DC or in Virginia or Maryland) My Situation:- I own a Single Family Home, which is my primary residence, that I purchased in 2016.