First time home owner buying a Townhouse?

[Kasun Herath]

This is my first post in Bigger pockets. I have a question and seeking help to decide whether my thought process is correct to proceed.

I've been renting apartments for last 5 years and now I'm trying to get into a my own property. My initial thought was to find a multi family property with a FHA loan and live for a year before I completely move out turning the whole unit an investment property. But its not that easy to find a good duplex or triplex in my area and me and my wife are bit concerned about the safety too because we are expecting a baby in 6-7 months.

So as a solution to this situation my next option is to find a 2 bed 2 bath townhouse with a FHA loan (total monthly expenses $1200 ) rather than renting two bed apartments (Rents for two bed 2 bath $1500) thinking I would save $250-300 per month and convert the townhouse into a investment property with in a year or year and half by moving to a bigger unit probably with another FHA loan. Or I can continue to live in this townhouse and save some money for a conventional loan down payment for a multi family investment.

Any help on this regard highly appreciated.