Established family - foot in the door? Initial Capital?

[Michael Voils]

I'm still in the research phase of my real estate journey.

I have an established family - married, three kids and a mortgage. I have only one vehicle that has a loan, the other is owned outright. I am not in a position to house hack. As a result, what I am seeing is that I will need 20% down for a commercial mortgage. I have about 12k liquid in the bank, and can possibly get more pulling from stocks, mutual funds, retirement funds, home equity loan, etc. I don't like the idea of liquidating my other assets though.

A $200,000 home would require a $40,000 out of pocket investment, which I don't have. Borrowing or co owning with family or friends is a possibility that I will keep in my back pocket.

If I were to use an equity loan on my current home for a down payment on a rental property it looks like I would have to find a home run property in order to break even -- paying down the equity on my current home and still having profit to reinvest in to the property.

I just have to figure out how to get initially financed.

What are the best options I have in my situation for getting a loan or a sum of money for a down payment?

Are there any Veteran or Disabled Veteran friendly loan companies that might go easier on the down payment? I'm using my VA loan on my own house, and you can't use it on a rental property anyway. Again, I'm not in a position to house hack.