Long-term planning for a first time buyer

[Bryan K.]

Hello BiggerPockets users, this is my first post but I have been lurking the forums, listening to BP podcasts, and reading about real estate for a couple months. I have been trying to plan my best course of action for investing in real estate, but getting started with a solid long-term plan past my initial home purchase is not as straight-forward as I had hoped.

First, I would like to purchase my own home (first-time home buyer) through a MyCommunityMortgage with a small down payment (3%). As I live in this home for at least a year, I would be building equity in the home as I pay the mortgage every month. After a year or so of building up equity in my home and income from my regular job, I would like to purchase a second investment property. While I would be able to save up some cash from my job over this year while paying off my mortgage, it would not be enough for a conventional loan with a 20% down payment. Perhaps I am just being impatient, but it will take a long time to get a 20% down payment for my second home to begin investing. I would prefer to get started as soon as possible.

Now this is where my knowledge gets murky at best. If I needed to have a 20% down payment, would I be able to take out a home equity loan on my first house to help fund the down payment on the second (investment) property, even though I will only have about 7% equity in the home? I also would like to leave myself the option of leaving the first house, moving into the second house, and renting out the first house. I know that owner-occupancy is a requirement for an MCM mortgage, but I am not sure how long it lasts.

Finally, is there an option for someone who already has an MCM mortgage to take out a second loan without putting down 20% for an investment property?

Ideally, I would like to buy a home, live in it for a year, buy a second property, move to the second property, and rent out my first property. I would like to repeat this process until I feel comfortable enough to change up my investment strategy.

Perhaps I am going about this all wrong, but I believe that I atleast explained my overall goals sufficiently. Please, give me ANY advice, general or specific, that you think would help me to make a wise decision. I would be extremely grateful.