All the data sources say San Antonio is lagging DFW/Houston/Austin in occupancy, but in 2008/2009 they were still 91% occupied-- thats really strong.  

@Filipe Pereira and @Will Gaston - I'm in a little different situation with my first student rental, as one of the occupants is my own son (and co-owner).

We count the income and income equivalents of all occupants in the household.However, if the SSI funds are for a minor, I would check with the applicant about their ability to access the funds.

They'll be listed on the MLS like any other house.Fannie Mae homes will be listed on the MLS but bids go through their website Homepath.comHUD will also list their homes on the MLS, but bids go through their website Hudhomestore.comTo purchase any of these, you go through an agent on Realtor.com or Zillow.com like any other house.HUD and Fannie Mae will often require an initial bidding period for owner occupants only and then open up bidding for investors.In some parts of the country, Fannie Mae homes tend to be occupied when you buy them.

my experience has been that with fema insurance--owner occupied is $500, non owner occupant $2000. 

My take on it is that you do have to sell to a owner occupant on most of them, the local investor thing I am not sure is 100% true either but easy enough to find out. 

My idea is to purchase a multifamily, ideally a fourplex, and get an FHA loan as an owner occupant.

Tax rates for rental property investors vs. homeowners utilize their home as occupancy are MUCH higher (6% vs. 4%) which doesn’t seem like a lot but the millage rates per county are double sometimes triple for investors meaning tax rates for investors can be 2-3 times higher for investors vs. homeowners.Good luck in your journey and feel free to PM if you want to talk shop sometime or have any questions about the area!

The thing that I like about HUD homes is that good deals can be made for the right properties especially while the home is under the "owner occupant only" bidding period.

Up here we get away with John/Jane Doe & all occupants for the court ordered removal.Sheriff was awesome called for backup & actually had one in handcuffs.