Issue getting a mortgage due to low dollar amount

[Steve Marshall]

Couldn't find a similar discussion.

I recently started working on getting my first investment property in the Pensacola, FL area.  I have enough cash to put 25% down on a smaller property (30-60K)  plus this seems to be where the numbers work best for cash flow in the area I'm interested in.  I am not planning on doing any major rehab due to being a long-distance investor.

 I called national lenders to try and get a traditional 30 year mortgage but was told that, due to federal regulations on fees relative to amount of loan, they couldn't offer a 30 year mortgage less than about 100K and only 15 year mortgages between 50-100K.  The loan officers consistently explained that because the dollar amount was so small the fees end up exceeding a certain percentage of the loan... that makes it illegal to write the loan. 

Has anyone run into this?  is there a way to get a traditional mortgage?  Maybe from a local lender?  Any suggestions?

I have no equity in other properties or cash on hand in non-retirement accounts that would allow for a cash purchase.  

I have considered a personal loan with a follow-on refi and peer to peer, but I'm a newbie and would rather finance the first deal traditionally if I can.  

I look forward to hearing your comments/suggestions.

Steve