Is it possible to not put 20% down for investment props in nj?

[Lou Ruggieri]

So I live in nj and as you probably know RE prices here are steep. I have a bit of money saved up, but obviously sinking 20% of that on each house will hurt a lot more than say 10% down. I talked to a loan officer today and he said that basically there's no way to not put that money down unless I was going to live there, which is an option, but there are currently leases in place. So my question is: Is there any way to not put 20% down on an investment? Do any banks or lenders do this at all? I asked if maybe I could put 10% down and then give the bank the other 10% in something like a mutual fund that they can then lend off of for whatever it is, a year or two, and then get my money back. This way they see they have my money and can come after it if I default, but I don't lose it all forever until I refinance. But the lender i talked to just flat out said that wasn't possible. Any thoughts would be appreciated.