Down Payment for Investment Property

[Vincent Ngo]

Hello BP community;

For those of you who have acquired investment properties with "little to no money down." How did you guys do it? 

I have considered receiving a gift from family and HELOC.

Has anyone ever went to a bank for a personal loan which in turn they used for down payment/closing costs? I've been researching this idea for a while but then I realized with taking a personal loan it ruin your debt to income ratio; which decreases your ability to obtain a property through the bank. 

Is this only done when trying to acquire shell properties? 

Has anyone ever tried/done this? Any other alternatives; is this what one would consider an attempt to raise private money? 

Any words of advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated.