There are very few mortgage programs out there that require no money down. FHA requires a down payment, those rural homestead mortgage programs require a down payment and those first responder/teacher/medical mortgage program require some kind of down payment. The only program that is available which is truly no money down is a VA loan. So unless you are a veteran, you are going to have to find a way to raise capital.
There are a variety of ways to raise capital. You can tell family members with money about your real estate ambitions and see if they want to partner with you on your endeavor, or they can gift you money to start investing with. You can also raid your retirement account by taking out a loan from your 401K or Pension plan to use as down payment. You do some extra shifts or side hustles that you can save to build capital.
If there is a will, there is a way. However, I do want you to understand that you will ALWAYS have to have money for a down payment when doing rental properties, it doesn't have to be YOUR money but there has to be SOME money, from somewhere.
Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 653 posts · 769 votes
7y
Find an asset-based lender who's okay with borrowed down payment funds. Then, find a trustworthy friend with some cash to invest, and a good deal. Put them together and there ya go!