FHA Duplex Financing Questions

[Shalane Latiker]

Greetings,

I'm currently paying rent for a very nice duplex I'm living in, and the owner is planning to sell the property in the next 30-45 days. The plan is for me to buy the property and continue living on one side for another year after the closing while renting out the other unit. I have been doing research and I know that FHA financing is the best route for me to go right now since I'll only have to come up with 3.5% for the down payment. The asking price for the property will be $119k, and the property is valued at around $150k. The seller is also willing to cover my closing costs.

I currently have 2 other rental properties that generate decent monthly rental incomes after expenses, and along with my full-time job, my combined monthly gross income from all sources is $5380.00.  My monthly expenses are around $1500, so my debt-to-income ratio is around 28%.  I have a few questions before I begin talking with various local lenders:

1.  Can future rental income from the unoccupied unit be considered as income for FHA financing?  I read somewhere that it could be considered (up to %75 of future monthly rent), but it seems like the unit should be occupied first.

2.  Does the borrower have to have cash reserves of at least three months' worth of mortgage payments?  

3.  What is the max DTI (debt-to-income ratio) for FHA financing?  

Any information provided would be appreciated!