They do it all the time. :dunno:

The catch: the house has to pass FHA standards, which means it has to be in good shape with no structural, major systems or roof problems. You can't fix these yourself, the house has to be in good shape in order to even qualify with. The neighborhood must also pass FHA standards... which generally means it has be above a certain % owner occupied (not sure what the number is), this applies to condo complexes as well. If there are a lot of renters in the neighborhood, you wont qualify.



And, on a personal note, I have to agree with qtiger... if you can't afford to buy a house, don't do it. 3% down payment is nothing. One mediocre year is all it would take to wipe out all of your equity and put you in an upside-down situation (i.e. you owe more on the house than it's worth... that shit is for cars, not homes). It used to be standard practice to require 20% down for all home loans, then they got into seconds, and eventually everything deteriorated into "Hey, you want to buy a house? Sure, why not!?!" Buying a house should require a saved up heap of money... it's not just insurance for the lender, it's insurance for you. If the mortgage industry had stuck to their guns on qualifications for financing, our economy wouldn't be in the shitter right now.