Is it a bad idea to get a loan to use as a down payment or are there better ways to get financing for a down payment?

How big of a down payment is it? I would say that it depends but its safe if you can put up the downpayment yourself. 

@Michael Madoian  You can't use borrowed funds for the downpayment for conventional financing. Lenders want "skin in the game".  In general, they're also going to want to see cash reserves in addition to the downpayment.

@Michael Madoian you are allowed to used borrowed funds to purchase a home with a conventional loan but it must be secured with a real estate property. Meaning, if you have a HELOC on a property, you borrow against that HELOC (which is tied to a property), then you can absolutely do that to make your down payment...as long as your other items make you qualify for the loan. If you don't have a HELOC, or a property to make a HELOC on, then you can borrow funds from someone as long as they have been in your account for about 90 days or so. Feel free to ask more questions if you need. Thanks!