If you are thinking that real estate investing may be a good thing for you the 203k could be a great way to get your feet wet. While FHA requires an owner occupant or a non profit, a young entrepreneur might think about a mixed use building rental property and convert the rental units to no more than four. The store income cannot be used to help the borrower qualify but the other residential units can. We did one in San Francisco that there was a four story building and one unit on the first floor and 3 stories above with a flat on each floor. The property had been in the 'family' for many years and the rental units had been pretty much ignored and needed extensive work to be livable. The proprietor wanted to live close to his store for security and since the family had owned it for many years the existing debt was zero. This was a simple decision to bring this property up to code and make the rental units pay for the renovation. A 'win win' situation and the City of SF won too.