My girlfriend and I live in a house (with a conventional mortgage) that we don't wish to move out of. I want to get into rentals, but don't yet have the capital to put %20 down on a sfr in my area. I do however have the money to put 3.5% down on a duplex or triplex. Someone recently gave me the idea of acquiring a triplex with an fha loan, rehabbing two of the units, renting them out, and taking my time with the third rehab. Or even rehab all three, rent two out and air b&b the third until the one year is up. Then I would rent out the third as well. Clearly I'm talking about getting an FHA, and then breaking the rules by not moving in.

My questions are:

1. What is your take on this?

2. What are my odds of getting caught?

3. What are the ramifications of being caught?

4. Hypothetically, if I couldn't possibly get caught, is this plan a smart one?

5. Should I refinance (brrrr style) after renting two out, or after the year has past and I have all three rented out, or not until the mortgage is paid down enough to remove the PMI?

Other notes:

I'm in Illinois

I'm a plumber

I have a good credit score

Sorry if my post is dumb

Thanks!