Vacation home as a primary residence?

[Michael Furey]

I'm looking to buy a vacation/rental home and trying to figure out how to finance it. Am I able to buy it with an FHA loan to put only 3.5% down if my actual primary residence is in my wife's name? I have no real estate on my credit at all, so would I be able to apply for an FHA loan in just my name for this as my "primary residence"?

[Katherine Blazer]

Everything Paul said is correct. You will need to qualify for the mortgage PITI with your income. You cannot use any projected rental income to qualify for the loan. There are also radius requirements to how close it can be to your primary residence.