Rental property with lowest down payment

[Sam Miller]

Hello All, 

I'm a young professional looking to get involved in rental property. Rather than wait 2-4 years to save up for a 20-30% down payment while losing money on rent, im hoping to buy abproperty sooner with a lower down payment. My ideal scenario would be to purchase a duplex and live in one unit, while renting out the other. I've read that government loans requiring a 3.5% down payment on up to $400,000 are available if you live in the unit for Atleast one year? Is this true? How does one procure this loan? Are there other special requirements? Do you recommend this strategy? Are there other options for rental investors with low start up capital?