Owner-occupant calculator · 2 to 4 units
Can you buy this duplex, triplex or fourplex and live in it?
Put in the building, the loan and the rents. You get the down payment, the loan against your county's 2026 limit, FHA mortgage insurance, the full monthly payment, FHA's self-sufficiency test on three and four units, and the rent a lender can count toward your income.
Estimate · not a loan offer
Your numbers
- Down payment
- $21,000
- Base loan
- $579,000
- County limit
- Pick a county
- Upfront MIP (1.75%)
- $10,133
- Loan amount
- $589,132
Monthly payment: principal, interest, taxes, insurance (PITI)
- Principal and interest
- $3,724
- Taxes
- $600
- Insurance
- $200
- Annual MIP (0.55%)
- $270
- Total payment (PITI)
- $4,794
Annual MIP of 0.55% for the life of the loan.
FHA self-sufficiency test
- Market rent, all units
- $5,400
- Less 25%
- -$1,350
- Net self-sufficiency rent
- $4,050
- PITI ÷ net rent
- 118.4%
Fails: needs 100% or less. At this payment every unit would need about $2,131 in market rent.
Rent and cash
- Rent a lender may count (75% of the other units)
- $2,700/mo
- Reserves to show after closing
- $14,381
- Your share if the other units pay full rent
- $1,194/mo
- Reserves: FHA requires three months of PITI after closing on three and four units.
Estimates from your inputs. Not a loan offer or a commitment; a lender's Loan Estimate is the real number. Closing costs, private mortgage insurance and the VA funding fee are not included.
The math, worked by hand
Here's what the calculator does, with its example inputs: a $600,000 triplex, FHA with 3.5% down, an example rate of 6.5% for 30 years, $7,200 a year in taxes, $2,400 in insurance and $1,800 market rent on each unit, yours included.
Loan and mortgage insurance
The base loan is $600,000 × 96.5% = $579,000. The upfront premium is 1.75% of that, $10,132.50, and added to the loan it makes $589,132. HUD doesn't count the financed premium against the county limit.
The base loan is 96.5% of the value and under $726,200, so on a term over 15 years the annual premium is 0.55% for the life of the loan: $589,132 × 0.55% ÷ 12 = $270.02 a month. That's a first-year approximation; the premium is recalculated each year on the falling balance.
Payment
Principal and interest on $589,132 at 6.5% over 30 years is $3,723.71. Add taxes ($600.00), insurance ($200.00) and MIP ($270.02) and the monthly payment is $4,793.73.
Self-sufficiency
Three units at $1,800 is $5,400 of market rent. Take off 25%, the minimum deduction, and the net is $4,050. Divide the payment by that: $4,793.73 ÷ $4,050 = 118.4%. HUD's limit is 100%, so this triplex fails. To pass at this price and down payment, each unit would need about $2,131 in market rent. The other ways through are a lower price or more cash down; see the self-sufficiency guide.
The calculator counts monthly MIP inside PITI. The handbook's definition of the total mortgage payment includes mortgage insurance, so that is the cautious reading; ask your lender how they run it.
Rental income and reserves
The two units you rent out bring in $3,600. FHA counts 75% of the lower of the appraiser's market rent and the lease, so $2,700 a month goes on your income side of the application, and the full payment still counts as your housing debt. On three or four units FHA also wants three months of PITI in reserves after closing: $14,381 here.
What each loan type does differently
| FHA | VA | Conventional | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Units | 1 to 4, you live in one | Up to 4 (one more per extra veteran on title) | 1 to 4, you live in one |
| Least down | 3.5% (580+ score); 10% (500-579) | Often none, per VA; with entitlement in use, entitlement plus cash down usually has to cover 25% of the loan | Freddie Mac: 5% if its automated underwriting (LPA) approves; Fannie Mae: ask your lender for its current minimum |
| County limit | FHA limit for your unit count | None with full entitlement; 1-unit conforming limit if entitlement is in use | Conforming limit for your unit count |
| Mortgage insurance | 1.75% upfront plus annual MIP | None; a funding fee instead | Private MI, priced by the lender |
| Rent counted | 75% of the lower of market rent and lease | 75% of the lease, if you show landlord experience and 6 months of PITI in reserves | Fannie Mae: 75% of gross rent from the other units |
| Reserves | 3 months PITI on 3-4 units | 6 months PITI if rent is counted | Fannie Mae, automated: 6 months |
| Extra test | Self-sufficiency on 3-4 units | Residual income | None of these |
VA's own page says its guaranty lets most buyers put nothing down. With entitlement already in use, the guaranty is 25% of the one-unit conforming limit minus what's already used, and most lenders want that plus any down payment to cover 25% of the loan. The full comparison, with the catch in each program, is in FHA, VA or conventional for a 2-4 unit.
Taking these numbers to a lender
If the numbers work, the next step is a residential mortgage lender or loan originator who does FHA, VA or conventional loans on 2-4 units. This site doesn't take mortgage requests or pass anyone's details to a lender: Janover Capital, which runs it, doesn't arrange owner-occupied or 1-4 unit loans. Pick your own lender, and check that the company and the person you deal with are licensed in your state on NMLS Consumer Access.
Bring the price, the unit count, the current leases or the rents you expect, the tax bill and an insurance quote. Ask each lender for a Loan Estimate on the same day, so the rates and fees compare like for like, and ask how it counts rent from the other units. The figures above are your estimate, not the lender's.
Buying five units or more? That's a commercial loan; see 5 to 20 units.