Hey this is my first post so hello everyone lol I'm from Memphis and am wondering what are my possible financing opinions since I'm in school and have little to no credit. I am very interested in house hacking and am wondering is it even possible for me to get the FHA loan in order to get the 3.5% down payment assuming i find a duplex or triplex thats affordable, or would a typical bank loan used to invest in a single family house be a better option?

You will need a couple months of paystubs, nothing bad on your credit report, and probably at least 1 revolving account in order to qualify for a mortgage. There's lots of cheap real estate around Memphis and I wouldn't say a duplex or triplex is necessarily any more lucrative than a SFH but an FHA loan should allow you to get up to a quad. Talk to a few local credit unions and national mortgage lenders and you will probably be able to find an option for no money down.

The best deals will be on property that needs a little work in order to qualify for an FHA.

Hi Ron. I'm finishing up my first deal now that I financed with an FHA loan. It's worked out very well for us. Just keep in mind some of the additional expenses that come with an FHA loan, primarily the PMI. If you do find a property that needs some work you have the option of a 203k loan. Your repair costs can be financed at the same interest rate as the rest of the property, which is nice.

They are EXTREMELY nitpicky about all of your financial information when you borrow money at such a low rate but if you are patient, provide the information they ask for, and don't give up it could work out pretty nice for you. Best of luck.

DONT assume that the 3.5% down payment is all you need to purchase a property using an FHA loan! Please account for at least an additional 6% of the purchase price for closing costs. Closing costs will not be wrapped into the mortgage. You can get the seller to contribute a certain percentage but you'll be paying for most of it.

I just closed on a property using a 203k loan and closing costs were around 15K in addition to my 3.5% down payment. 

Also, your credit history does not have to be spotless in order to qualify. I had a TON of late payments back in college (im only 26 now) and i qualified. Its definitely a case to case basis. We can predict if you can or cannot get approved...only one way to find out is to get pre qualified!