Financing options for a rental

[Eugene Kotlyar]

I am in the process of purchasing an apartment that I will be renting out to a family friend. The apartment is in the same condo complex that my family lives in now. It looks like I am ineligible to purchase it as a second home because of the proximity of my residence. Investment property rates are higher than I anticipated – do I have any other options? Should I purchase it for cash and finance it later (does this give me some sort of flexibility, cheaper financing option later on?). Also, I’ve always used one major bank for all my real estate transactions because they’ve consistently had better rates than others but this was for primary/secondary homes – are there Banks out there that are known for lower rates for investment properties?