I'm a real estate investor who makes over $20,000 a month in passive income. Here's how I got started with a FHA loan — and the caveats to be aware of.

• Matthew Slowik got his first investment property with a FHA loan in 2008.
• Since then, Slowik  has acquired 10 properties that make $21,000 a month in revenue.
• He said to be aware of a few caveats with FHA financing — occupancy fraud is a very real thing.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Matthew Slowik, a real-estate investor and the owner of Revival Homebuyers, who's based in Western Massachusetts. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

On a fall day in 2000, I returned home from high school, and my parents told me we'd be going out to dinner to celebrate — they'd just paid off their mortgage. It was then that I realized I wanted to do as they'd done.