Purchasing my first two units - Not sure how to maximize approach

[Nicholas Aramouni]

Hello Community. 

This is my first post on BP, and I am excited to be here to contribute and learn from the community! I am beginning my investing journey soon and I know this is a great place to start. I've really had no real guidance in real estate investing outside my own pursuit of knowledge. So, I come here with a question, hoping for some additional guidance. Here is the scenario. 

I have enough capital to put down payments on my first two properties, which I plan on buying in early 2023. I am weighing my options between (1) putting a larger downpayment on my first purchase, to gain equity quickly and help ensure cash flow - then of course buying the second unit to follow. Or (2) putting a smaller downpayment on my first unit to maintain a 20% downpayment on my second unit. For (2) I would be able to lay down about 13-18% on my first unit. To summarize some essential elements.. It's important to mention that I live in Canada, and here, they tack on "default insurance" if you own less than 20% of a property. For the type of property I am looking at, it would tack on about 9-10K extra across the mortgage term.  I'm not using any creative financing techniques for these first two units, which means I will certainly be leveraging my income for my mortgage loan (this is why I am debating the importance of a 20% downpayment on the second unit, and eating some insurance costs in the process). 

I'm curious, which option would you choose, and what do you think the pros or cons would be of both? 

Excited to get some perspectives here. Thanks so much in advance for your thoughts!