10% down for investment property

[Arun Dharan]

I am relocating from San Francisco to Philadelphia for work and looking at a duplex or triplex to invest in. The goal is to live in 1 side and rent out other 2 and not worry about the mortgage. My concern is I only have 10-15% down for a down payment and the real estate agent I was working with said It’s a lot harder to buy anything unless 20% down. I have excellent credit and make great income so wanted to get others opinions on if this is possible? Or should I rent and save up more to do 20%? Appreciate any advice/ insight on this

[Fernando M.]

You should really shop around for a good loan. I know a FHA loan can be used to acquire a duplex/triplex but they have some requirements I think its as little as 3.5% down. With owner occupied.

You could also do this with a conventional loan but with the local bank I used they dont allow the seller to pay closing cost, cannot be roled into the mortgage and also 10% down for a duplex owner occupied. So different rules depending on the bank. 

Ultimately I would shop around for a good loan, and leverage the property as much as possible.